Safety and efficacy of BIOSTRONG® 510 (essential oil of thyme and star anise) for chickens and minor avian species for fattening and rearing to point of lay

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of the product BIOSTRONG^® 510 (essential oil from thyme and star anise, crushed dried spices and crushed dried herbs), when used as a feed additive for chickens for fattening and rearing to point of lay and minor avian species for fattening and rearing to point of lay. BIOSTRONG^® 510 is a preparation of partially microencapsulated essential oils from thyme and star anise, dried herbs and dried spices. The FEEDAP Panel concludes that BIOSTRONG^® 510 is safe for chickens for fattening at the proposed conditions of use and that this conclusion can be extended to chickens reared for laying and extrapolated to all minor poultry species for fattening and reared to point of lay. The FEEDAP Panel concludes that the use of BIOSTRONG^® 510 as an additive in the feed for chickens for fattening does not present risk for the consumer of meat and meat products. Irritancy studies have not been provided, however, because of the content of saponins, the FEEDAP Panel assumes that the additive is highly irritant to mucous membranes, and considers that measures to minimise exposure by all routes are necessary for the handling of this product. The use of BIOSTRONG^® 510 at the recommended levels is not considered to be a risk for the environment. The FEEDAP Panel considers that BIOSTRONG^® 510 has the potential to be efficacious in improving performance of chickens for fattening. This conclusion can be extended to chickens reared for laying and extrapolated to all minor poultry species for fattening and reared to point of lay at the same dose.