**Background:** The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) received a request from the European Commission to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pine white oil (also known as turpentine oil), an essential oil obtained by steam distillation from the oleoresin of Pinus pinaster Aiton, for use as a sensory additive (flavoring) in feed and drinking water for all animal species. The application was submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 for authorization and re-evaluation of existing products. The assessment covers one of seven remaining preparations from botanically defined group 18 (Gymnosperms).
**Methods:** The FEEDAP Panel evaluated data submitted by the applicant in a technical dossier, supplemented by previous EFSA risk assessments, peer-reviewed scientific papers, and expert knowledge. The additive was characterized using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) across five batches. Since no tolerance studies in target species or toxicological studies in laboratory animals were submitted for the essential oil itself, the panel applied a component-based approach, allocating the identified constituents to nine assessment groups based on structural and metabolic similarity. For each component, exposure was estimated using default feed intake values, and hazard characterization was performed using available NOAEL values, read-across from structurally related substances, or the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) approach. Risk characterization was expressed as the margin of exposure (MOE) for individual components and combined margin of exposure (MOET) for each assessment group, with a MOET ≥100 considered adequate (except for cats, where MOET ≥500 was required due to low glucuronidation capacity).
**Key Results:** The additive is a colorless clear mobile liquid with density 0.862–0.863 kg/L and refractive index 1.4696–1.4700. Six main constituents accounted for 91.6% of the composition on average: α-pinene (63.1%, range 59.6–67.8%), β-pinene (21.2%, 19.2–22.7%), longifolene (2.65%, 2.09–3.56%), β-caryophyllene (2.46%, 1.84–3.22%), camphene (1.14%, 1.00–1.27%), and myrcene (1.10%, 0.93–1.22%). Up to 88 constituents were detected, with 40 identified accounting for 99.6% of the GC area. The MOET for the critical assessment group (bi-, tricyclic, non-aromatic hydrocarbons, CG 31, V) was 70 for chickens for fattening at the proposed 35 mg/kg feed level, below the threshold of 100. Safe maximum use levels were calculated to ensure MOET ≥100: 25 mg/kg for chickens for fattening, 33 mg/kg for turkeys for fattening, and 14 mg/kg for ornamental birds. For cats, the MOET at the proposed 20 mg/kg was 484, considered sufficient against the 500 threshold. The panel concluded the additive is safe at the maximum proposed use levels of 35 mg/kg for laying hens, piglets, pigs for fattening, sows, rabbits, salmonids; 50 mg/kg for veal calves (milk replacer), cattle for fattening, dairy cows, horses, dogs, and ornamental fish; and 20 mg/kg for cats. For any other species, 20 mg/kg complete feed is considered safe. No consumer safety concerns were identified, as the constituents are expected to be extensively metabolized and excreted, and human background exposure from direct food use (0.002 mg/kg bw per day for turpentine oil) is unlikely to be significantly increased. The additive should be considered irritant to skin and eyes, and a skin and respiratory sensitiser. No environmental risk is expected.
**Clinical Implications:** This opinion provides regulatory guidance for the safe use of pine white oil as a feed flavoring across all animal species, establishing species-specific maximum safe concentrations. The component-based approach using MOET calculations offers a framework for assessing complex botanical mixtures where whole-mixture toxicity data are unavailable. The findings support the authorization of pine white oil as a feed additive without withdrawal period, with the caveat that use in drinking water must not exceed the daily safe intake from feed. The panel noted that since pine oleoresins are recognized food flavorings, no further efficacy demonstration was necessary.