Comparison Between Feed Additives and Feed Materials in the European Union

19 Mar 2025

Understand the differences between feed additives and feed materials in the EU

In the European Union (EU), ingredients added to animal feed are either regulated as feed additives or feed materials. The main differences between these types of animal feed ingredients are discussed herein. Both require premarket submissions before going to market; however, a feed additive requires formal authorisation before going to market, while a feed material is simply notified and can go to market right away, although regulatory safety reviews may be conducted after notification and could lead to removal of the ingredient from the register. [1] [2]

Feed additives are typically added to animal feed to either: i) improve the quality of the feed, ii) improve the quality of the animal-derived ingredient, or iii) improve the animals’ performance and/or health. There are two types of authorisations that can be granted to a feed additive in the EU:

1. Applicant-specific authorisations, which applies to:
• Zootechnical additives (compounds that have favourable effects on animal performance, such as digestibility enhancers or gut flora stabilisers, or positively impact the environment);
• Coccidiostats and histomonostats (chemicals that eliminate protozoan parasites which cause coccidiosis or histomoniasis in animals); and
• Additives consisting of, containing, or produced from genetically modified organisms.
2. Generic authorisations, which applies to:
• Technical additives
• Sensory additives; and
• Nutritional additives.

Both types of authorisations come with a 10-year validity period (i.e., the period that the authorisation is valid and can remain on the market) before renewal of the authorisation is required. These renewals begin at least 1 year before the expiry date of the authorisation. The benefits of an applicant-specific authorisation over a generic authorisation are that other businesses cannot benefit from the data used to support the safety and efficacy of the additive, and as such would need to submit their own data.

In contrast, feed materials are ingredients that help meet an animal’s nutritional needs. Feed materials are initially notified through the Feed Materials Register, which includes a tool to determine if a proposed substance is a feed additive or material. Feed materials are published under Commission Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 of 16 January 2013 on the Catalogue of feed materials. [3] Entries on this catalogue include the feed materials’ catalogue number, name, description, and a compulsory declaration. Examples of feed materials include ingredients and derivatives from the following categories: cereal grains, oil seeds and fruits, legumes, tubers and roots, other seeds and fruits, forages and roughages, other plants and algae, milk products, animal products, minerals, and products obtained by fermentation of microorganisms. There is also a miscellaneous category, which includes materials such as products obtained via processing of other ingredients, sugars, and other oligosaccharides, starches, sugar alcohols, fatty acid derivatives, and glycerin to name a few. It should be noted that only the first business to bring a feed material to market needs to register the ingredient, as the feed material process is generic so anyone else with an identical substance can use an existing feed material notification. It is the responsibility of the registrar to compile documentation supporting that the feed material is safe under the intended conditions of use.

In short, the difference between the two types of ingredients is that a feed additive provides a technological function, whereas the principal purpose of feed materials is to meet the nutritional needs of animals and may also have feed additive properties. [4] In an upcoming blog, we will discuss the data requirements between a feed additive submission and a feed material notification.

Intertek has extensive experience with overcoming complex regulatory hurdles and developing unique strategic pathways to get these kinds of ingredients to market in the EU, United States, and other jurisdictions worldwide. We can help identify the most appropriate regulatory pathway for your ingredient and help facilitate the formal application processes in addition to acting as a liaison with government officials. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at food.sci-reg@intertek.com

Disclaimer: The foregoing does not constitute legal or regulatory advice, and the reader should seek professional guidance for their specific requirements and conditions. Please contact our expert compliance team for further assistance in this regard.

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