# Revised safety evaluation of the food enzyme leucyl aminopeptidase from the non‐genetically modified Aspergillus sp. strain AE‐MB

**Authors:** Holger Zorn, José Manuel Barat Baviera, Claudia Bolognesi, Francesco Catania, Gabriele Gadermaier, Ralf Greiner, Baltasar Mayo, Alicja Mortensen, Yrjö Henrik Roos, Marize L. M. Solano, Monika Sramkova, Henk Van Loveren, Laurence Vernis, Eleonora Marini, Yi Liu

PMC · DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9422 · EFSA Journal · 2025-05-14

## TL;DR

A revised safety evaluation concludes that a food enzyme from a non-genetically modified fungus is safe under new usage conditions.

## Contribution

New safety assessment of leucyl aminopeptidase in seven food processes with updated exposure data.

## Key findings

- Dietary exposure to the enzyme was calculated at up to 0.367 mg TOS/kg body weight per day.
- Revised margin of exposure was at least 499, indicating no safety concerns under new conditions.
- Safety conclusion is based on integrating new data into prior evaluations.

## Abstract

The food enzyme leucyl aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.11.1) is produced with the non‐genetically modified Aspergillus sp. strain AE‐MB by Amano Enzyme Inc. In a previous evaluation, the Panel concluded that the food enzyme could not be considered safe when used in five food manufacturing processes, due to insufficient margins of exposure estimated for all age groups. Subsequently, the applicant requested to withdraw one use, to include three additional food manufacturing processes, and to revise the use levels. In the present assessment, EFSA revised the safety evaluation of this food enzyme when used in a total of seven food manufacturing processes. The dietary exposure to the food enzyme–total organic solids (TOS) was calculated to be up to 0.367 mg TOS/kg body weight (bw) per day in European populations. When combined with the no observed adverse effect level reported in the previous opinion (183 mg TOS/kg bw per day, the lowest dose tested), the revised margin of exposure was at least 499. Having integrated new data into the previous evaluation, the Panel concluded that this food enzyme does not give rise to safety concerns under the revised intended conditions of use.

## Linked entities

- **Species:** Aspergillus sp. (taxon 5065)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** BCAR1 (BCAR1 scaffold protein, Cas family member) [NCBI Gene 9564] {aka CAS, CAS1, CASS1, CRKAS, P130Cas}, LAP3 (leucine aminopeptidase 3) [NCBI Gene 51056] {aka HEL-S-106, LAP, LAPEP, PEPS}
- **Diseases:** NOAEL (MESH:D064420)
- **Chemicals:** sugars (MESH:D000073893), polysaccharides (MESH:D011134), starch (MESH:D013213), alcohol (MESH:D000438), amino acid (MESH:D000596), IUBMB (-), leucine (MESH:D007930)
- **Species:** Aspergillus (genus) [taxon 5052], A. flavus [taxon 315677], Aspergillus flavus (species) [taxon 5059], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Aspergillus oryzae (species) [taxon 5062], Aspergillus sp. (species) [taxon 5065]

## Full text

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## References

6 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12076061/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12076061