EFSA confirms safety and efficacy of DSM carotenoid

Carophyll Red 10%, which forms part of DSM’s innovative MaxiChick, is the first ever carotenoid product to be evaluated for use as a zootechnical feed additive in the EU. Carophyll Red 10 % under the recommended dose of 60mg /kg feed has shown a significant improvement of hatching performance in poultry breeders. In field trials and university studies around the world, MaxiChick consistently produced 43 more chicks per ton of feed (in broiler breeders), translating into a savings for the chick producer of around € 280,000 per million birds per cycle.

Carophyll Red 10% is a nature-identical canthaxanthin source, a carotenoid which occurs widely in nature. Carophyll Red 10% is a trusted product used by the egg and poultry markets worldwide already for 40 years.

Hens cannot synthesize carotenoids de novo and therefore have to ingest these nutrients via the diet. When included in their feed at 60mg/kg Carophyll Red 10% improves the antioxidant status of the embryo prior to hatching, and subsequently of the chick for up to seven days after hatching.

Before the endorsement from EFSA, a patent in favor of DSM had been published on the use of Carophyll Red 10% (either alone or in combination with 25-Hydroxy-Vitamin D3 or HyD) to improve breeder hatchability, fertility and the lowering of embryo mortality in poultry. Carophyll Red 10% is the only source of canthaxanthin covered under this patent.