What Is Feed Additives

What is feed additives

Feed additives are products used in animal nutrition for purposes of improving the quality of feed and the quality of food from animal origin, or to improve the animals’ performance and health, e.g. providing enhanced digestibility of the feed materials. Feed additives may not be put on the market unless authorisation has been given following a scientific evaluation demonstrating that the additive has no harmful effects, on human and animal health and on the environment.

What is feed additives in poultry

Common feed additives used in poultry diets include antimicrobials, antioxidants, emulsifiers, binders, pH control agents and enzymes. Sometimes diets will also contain other additives used in diets for humans and pets such as flavour enhancers, artificial and nutritive sweeteners, colours, lubricants, etc.

What is feed additives mean

“Feed additives are products used in animal nutrition for purposes of improving the quality of feed and the quality of food from animal origin, or to improve the animals’ performance and health, e.g. providing enhanced digestibility of the feed materials.”

You thought that animals ate plants, or grass or some other ‘food’ natural to their ilk. But in reality, in today’s factory farms, feeding livestock is a complicated endeavor fraught with controversy and split opinions.

According to a 2010 report by MarketsandMarkets, a market research company, the global feed additives market is expected to reach $18.7 billion by 2016. That’s no small industry. Their report also shows,

“Antibiotics is the leading demand generating product with a share of more than 27% in 2011, followed by amino acid with 26.5% share in the global feed additives market. The consumption of antibiotics is high due to increasing demand in Asian and Latin American regions to meet the high domestic and export demand for meat.”

There are four general types of feed additives:

– Sensory Additives – these stimulate an animals appetite so that they naturally want to eat more.

– Nutritional Additives – these provide a particular nutrient that may be deficient in an animal’s diet.

– Zootechnical Additive – these improve the overall nutritional value of an animal’s diet through additives in the feed.

– Coccidiostats and Histomonostats – these are feed additives which are antibiotics, intended to kill or inhibit protozoa (bacteria/micro-organisms). These have been banned in Europe since 2009 and replaced with probiotic alternatives.

What is phytogenic feed additives

Phytogenic feed additives are substances derived from plants. … Also referred to as phytobiotics or botanicals, phytogenics are plant-derived products used in feed to potentially improve pig performance.