Animal Dietary Exposure to Methylxanthines through the Inclusion of Former Food Products (FFPs) in Feed

Former food products (FFPs) are increasingly recognized as sustainable feed ingredients. While nutritionally valuable, FFPs may contain cocoa-based confectionery, which is a source of methylxanthines such as theobromine (TB) and caffeine (CF) and can impact animal health. This study quantified TB and CF concentrations in 12 FFPs using HPLC-UV, evaluated FFP inclusion rates in animals’ diets against European Union (EU) maximum levels (MLs), and dietary exposure against toxicological thresholds. TB levels ranged from 59.6 to 1147.1 μg/g and CF from 9.3 to 118.1 μg/g. All products, except one, complied with EU MLs when included at 30% in the diet (on a dry basis). Modeled animal dietary exposure (ADE) indicated that, in most proposed species, TB intake was below safety thresholds; however, the maximum exposure scenarios in piglets exceeded reported no-observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL). These findings highlight the need for species-specific and production-stage-specific evaluations and accurate quantification of methylxanthines when formulating diets with FFPs.