EU Register of Feed Additives authorisation lookup guide
Use the EU Register of Feed Additives to find the authorising act, then check species, use conditions, expiry dates and any renewal extension.
The EU Register of Feed Additives is the European Commission's online register for checking whether an animal feed additive is authorised. Find the exact additive, then read its authorising Regulation and amendments for permitted species, use conditions and authorisation dates.
A matching name is not enough. Under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003, no one may place a feed additive on the market, process it or use it unless it is authorised and the applicable use and labelling conditions are met. A search hit is not permission for every use.
The Commission also calls this the European Union Register of Feed Additives. Article 17 names it the Community Register of Feed Additives, and the Commission must keep that register public and up to date.
Open the current feed additive register
Use the Commission's register page, which leads to the Food and Feed Portal. The Commission's feed additives page says the online register replaced the PDF version on 5 April 2023. The register is updated regularly and includes references and links to the authorising Regulations. Start there, not with an old downloaded EU feed additives list.
The portal search shows these controls:
- Category/Functional Group.
- Status: All, Authorised or Not authorised.
- Authorisation to be phased out: All, No, Yes or Partially.
- Expiry date from and Expiry date to.
Use filters that fit the question. A status filter set to Authorised hides entries marked Not authorised.
Don't turn a failed search into a legal conclusion. If the portal returns nothing, check the official legislation before you use the additive.
Match the additive and its intended use
Compare the additive's specification with the material you plan to buy, supply or formulate. Then match the intended animal species or category. The Commission states that authorisations concern specific animal species or categories and specific conditions of use. See the Commission's feed additives legislation page.
Record the category and functional group separately. Article 6 lists five categories: technological additives, sensory additives, nutritional additives, zootechnical additives, and coccidiostats and histomonostats. Those categories contain functional groups, and an additive may sit in more than one category or group.
Category helps you find an entry. It does not decide whether your proposed use is permitted.
Read the feed additive regulation and amendments
Open the legal act linked from the register. Read the annex and any amendment that changes the proposed use. Articles 8(4) and 9(5) cover specifications, animal species or categories and the conditions or restrictions that apply.
Use this checklist when reading the act:
| Check | What to compare with your proposed use |
|---|---|
| Identity and specification | The authorised additive against the material you intend to supply or use |
| Species or animal category | The animals covered by the authorisation against your intended animals |
| Content limits | Any minimum or maximum content and the stated units |
| Other conditions | Applicable handling instructions, use restrictions and other provisions |
| Holder restrictions | Whether the authorisation restricts first placing on the market |
| Later legislation | Amendments or other relevant acts that change the original terms |
Not every authorisation contains every restriction. Read the provisions that apply to this additive.
Holder restrictions need particular care. Article 3(3) restricts first placing on the market for zootechnical additives, coccidiostats and histomonostats, and for additives consisting of, containing or produced from GMOs where Community legislation on marketing those products applies. Only the holder named in the authorisation Regulation, a legal successor or a person acting under the holder's written authority may do that first placing. This is not a rule that only the holder may resell any feed additive.
Check expiry dates and renewal extensions
Authorisations normally last 10 years and are renewable. Article 9(8) sets that period. Do not treat it as universal. Article 15 allows provisional authorisations of up to five years. The Commission's authorisation page says both holder-specific and non-holder-specific authorisations are valid for 10 years throughout the EU and the EEA.
A displayed expiry date does not, by itself, establish that use is unlawful. Article 14(1) requires the renewal application at the latest one year before the expiry date. Under Article 14(4), where no renewal decision is taken before expiry for reasons beyond the applicant's control, the authorisation extends automatically until the Commission decides. That extension must be made public in the Register.
But a pending application alone is not proof that this extension applies. Check the extension information and any later legal act before you treat the authorisation as still valid.
Phase-out flags need the same care. Follow the legal act, and do not decide from a flag or a date alone.
Keep a record of the check
For an audit trail, save the official entry reference, the legal acts you opened and the date of the check. Note how the specification, animal category and use conditions match the proposed use.
For the binding text, use the Official Journal. EUR-Lex says the consolidated text is only a documentation tool and has no legal effect. Its framework consolidation date, 27 March 2021, does not mean later authorising Regulations are unchanged.
RegAffairs AI's answer on checking EU feed-additive authorisation is a citation-backed starting point for this lookup.
This register concerns EU authorisation. For a product destined for another market, such as the United States, check that market's requirements separately.