The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a new scientific opinion evaluating the use of Diathermic Syncope® (DTS) as a method for stunning cattle at slaughter.

DTS is claimed to induce unconsciousness through exposure of the brain to electromagnetic energy, which raises brain temperature and leads to a seizure-like state. However, the EFSA Animal Health and Welfare Panel found that the scientific evidence submitted by the applicant did not allow a reliable assessment of whether the method consistently induces and maintains unconsciousness without causing avoidable pain, fear or distress. Crucially, the available electroencephalography (EEG) data were insufficiently robust and the behavioural and physical reflex measures used to infer unconsciousness were judged unreliable.

As a result, key questions about the effectiveness of DTS at the energy levels proposed (160–200 kJ) and the duration of unconsciousness it produces remain unanswered. Therefore, according to this scientific opinion, this stunning method with the specific proposed energy values does not provide a level of welfare at least equivalent to one or more of the currently allowed methods listed in Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009. The opinion highlights significant uncertainties in the scientific evidence, emphasising the need for further validated data to support any conclusion about welfare equivalence.

See more:
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2026.9934