Q.01

How do I check if a feed additive is authorised in the EU?

The quickest check is the European Commission's EU Register of Feed Additives, which you can search on the Commission's Food and Feed Portal. Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 requires the Commission to "establish and keep up to date a Community Register of Feed Additives", and the Register "shall be made available to the public" (Art. 17) [1]. The Register tells you whether an entry exists. The authorising Commission Regulation tells you whether your particular use is covered.

Why it matters: Under Art. 3(1), "No person shall place on the market, process or use a feed additive unless" three things are true:

  • it has an authorisation under the Regulation;
  • the conditions of use are met, including the general conditions in Annex IV;
  • the labelling conditions are met.

[2]

How to check, step by step

  1. Search the Register by name or strain. Each additive has its own entry with a link. For example:

    • "Cholecalciferol" or "Vitamin D3" (POL-FEED-IMPORT-1227) [3]
    • riboflavin (vitamin B2) (POL-FEED-09061) [4]
    • Some microbial entries name the authorisation holder, for example the Bacillus subtilis DSM 32324/DSM 32325 and B. amyloliquefaciens DSM 25840 entry (holder Chr. Hansen A/S) [5]

    Search by the exact strain or deposit number, not just the species: authorisations are specific.

  2. Check that the entry is current. An authorisation "shall be valid throughout the Community for 10 years" and is renewable under Art. 14. Each Register entry "shall state the date of authorisation" and the particulars set by the authorising Regulation (Art. 9(8)) [6].

    • A renewal application must reach the Commission "at the latest one year before the expiry date".
    • If the Commission hasn't decided on renewal before expiry for reasons beyond the applicant's control, the authorisation is automatically extended. That extension is shown publicly in the Register (Art. 14(1), (4)) [7].

  3. Read the authorising Commission Regulation, not just the Register entry. Under Art. 9(5)-(7), the Regulation sets out [6]:

    • the particulars from Art. 8(4)(b)-(e) and an identification number;
    • for additives in categories (d) and (e) of Art. 6(1), and for GMO-derived additives, the authorisation holder;
    • MRLs, where residues could harm human health.

    Compare your target species and categories, inclusion levels and conditions against that text.

  4. Check whether only the holder can sell it. For category (d) and (e) additives and GMO-derived additives, only the named holder, its legal successor, or someone with its written authority may first place the product on the market (Art. 3(3)) [2]. A matching entry in the Register doesn't cover another supplier's product.

  5. Treat older "existing product" entries carefully. Some additives are in the Register under the Art. 10 transitional route, as products previously marketed under Directives 70/524/EEC or 82/471/EEC. These entries show the date first entered and, where applicable, the expiry date of the old authorisation [8]. If the required notification or re-evaluation application was missing, a withdrawal Regulation is adopted, which may include a period for using up existing stocks (Art. 10(5)) [8].

  6. Check the label against the authorisation. Art. 16(1) requires, among other things [9]:

    • the specific name given on authorisation, preceded by the functional group;
    • the identification number;
    • directions for use, including the target species;
    • a responsible operator established in the EU.

    A label that doesn't match the authorisation is a sign the product isn't covered.

One exception: Member States "may authorise" non-authorised substances, other than antibiotics, for supervised scientific experiments (Art. 3(2)) [2].

Approach: I read the current consolidated text of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 and searched the EU Register of Feed Additives for sample entries.

If you give me a specific additive, strain or identification number, I can look up its Register entry and status, and pull the EFSA FEEDAP opinion behind it.

Q.02

What should I check in the register entry?

Check eight things in a Register entry: the additive's identity and code, its category and functional group, the target species, the authorisation holder, its dates, any note under the expiry date, the legal acts linked to it, and whether it is current or historical. Then open the linked Commission Regulation, because that is where the conditions of use are set out. The Register itself has to be public under Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003, Art. 17: "The Commission shall establish and keep up to date a Community Register of Feed Additives" and "The Register shall be made available to the public" [1].

Field by field, using three live entries as examples

What to checkRiboflavin (vitamin B2) [4]B. subtilis DSM 32324 / DSM 32325 + B. amyloliquefaciens DSM 25840 [5]Camphor essential oil white (Cinnamomum camphora L.) [10]
Additive name (must match exactly, including strain or deposit numbers)riboflavin (vitamin B2)names all three strainsnames CAS 8008-51-3, FEMA 2231, CoE 130, EINECS 294-760-2
Identification number (the code on your label)3a825V4b1894"." (no code given)
Category / functional group3(a)4(b), gut flora stabilisers2(b), natural products: botanically defined
Target speciesAll animal speciesAll poultry species for fattening or reared for laying or reared for breedingAll animal species
Authorisation holderblankChr. Hansen A/Sblank
Authorisation numberAUTH-FEED-04221AUTH-FEED-IMPORT-1560AUTH-FEED-IMPORT-1046
Entry date / authorisation date2023-09-08 / 2023-09-282020-11-26 / 2020-12-162005-11-07 / blank
Expiry date2033-09-282030-12-162024-09-22
Deletion dateblankblank2024-09-01
Expiry noteblank"Amendment in Article 3 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2576.""Transitional measures in Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1451 of 1 September 2022."
Renewal application submitted on timeblankblanktrue
Linked legal acts13 (one primary, two of a second type)1
Current or historicalcurrentcurrenthistorical

What each check tells you

  1. Name, code and category. Match all three to your product and label. The Bacillus example shows why: the entry covers that exact three-strain combination, not B. subtilis in general.
  2. Target species. The authorisation applies only to the species or animal categories listed. The Bacillus entry is limited to poultry, so it does not cover pigs or ruminants.
  3. Holder. If a holder is named, as with Chr. Hansen A/S, the authorisation belongs to that holder. A blank holder field, as for riboflavin, means no holder is listed in the Register.
  4. Dates. Check the authorisation and expiry dates against today. A deletion date or a "historical" flag means the entry is no longer a current authorisation. The camphor oil entry shows both: expiry 2024-09-22, deletion 2024-09-01.
  5. The expiry note. Don't skip this field. It can point to a later act that changes the term (the Bacillus entry refers to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2576), or to transitional measures such as a period for using up existing stocks (the camphor entry refers to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1451).
  6. Renewal fields. These record whether a renewal application was submitted on time, or withdrawn by the applicant.
  7. Linked legal acts. Open every linked act, not only the first. An entry with several acts, like the Bacillus one, has been amended after it was first authorised.
  8. Conditions of use. These entries carry no inclusion levels, minimum or maximum contents, or other conditions. They are in the annex to the linked Regulation, so read them there.

The EFSA question number field and the Official Journal reference fields were empty in all three entries. Get the OJ reference from the linked act itself.

Approach: I read Article 17 of the consolidated text of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 and full entries from the European Commission's EU Register of Feed Additives on the Food and Feed Portal. The conditions of use in the authorising Regulations are not part of these Register entries.

If you send me an additive or identification number, I can pull its entry and go through these fields for you.

Q.03