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Regulated Food and Feed Products for Great Britain

Guidance on using the Register of Feed Additive Authorisations

Introduction

From 1 April 2025, The Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 means that authorisations now come into effect following ministerial decision and are published in the register, rather than statutory instrument. The register is the primary source of information on the regulated products authorised for market in Great Britain. This online register is the official register referred to in assimilated Regulation (EC) 1831/2003. It sets out a list of feed additives permitted for use in Great Britain.

Further information and guidance on feed additives authorisations can be found here.

Understanding the register fields

Feed additives are grouped together by broad categories based on their general intended use and may be further defined by their specific function, as defined in assimilated Regulation (EC) 1831/2003. The five categories are:

  1. Technological
  2. Sensory
  3. Nutritional
  4. Zootechnical (specialised functions: e.g. gut flora stabiliser)
  5. Coccidiostats and Histomonostats* (anti-parasitic substances)
    * Please note, no separate functional groups

Definitions of the full list of functional groups can be found in the feed additive categories and functional groups section. Each feed additive entry on the register includes its name, and where applicable:

  • feed additive ID code
  • Category/functional group/functional group subclassification
  • Status and status notes
  • Transitional provisions
  • Notes on the most recent update to that entry
  • Link to legislation

Feed additive ID code

Feed additive ID codes (e.g. 4a16) are based on the first entry of a specific substance into the register and includes the prefix for the category and functional group (e.g. 4a: Zootechnical – Digestibility enhancers). However, these ID codes are not necessarily unique, and the same ID code would be used for an identical substance, even when used for a different function (e.g. benzoic acid).

Some longstanding feed additives have an E-number assigned (e.g. E 310), as used for food additives. Feed and food additive E-numbers generally refer to the same substance, although this is not always the case (e.g. E 284).

Category/function

Under this heading entry, the short code relates to the feed additive’s category (number 1-5) and functional group (letter), along with the functional group name. In the examples shown above: (1b) is a Technological – antioxidant and 4a is a Zootechnical – digestibility enhancer.

Historical classifications may not always follow this coding system in full, such as micro-organisms and enzymes. These old classifications will be updated to a current category/functional group and a new code assigned when they are re-authorised.

Status and status notes

This will show the authorisation status of the entry and explanatory notes where necessary. The definitions for statuses can be found below:

Status Definition Example note
Authorised Authorised to be placed on the GB market or in the specified nation(s)
Revoked No longer authorised to be placed on the GB market or in the specified nation(s)
Article 10 feed additive Existing feed additives prior to 2005 which are undergoing evaluation and remain permitted on the GB market (Re-authorisations defined in Article 10 1831/2003). Re-evaluation application was received by the specified deadline.
Subject to review Substance for which re-evaluation application was not received by the specified deadline. Not fully authorised but currently permitted on the GB market, subject to future review Re-evaluation application was not received by the specified deadline.
Withdrawn No longer permitted to be placed on GB market and removed from consideration for authorisation. Withdrawn at request of applicant/ industry
Urgent authorisation Urgent feed additive authorisations authorised on a temporary basis Urgent feed additive authorised until [date]
Expired Applies to expired urgent feed additive authorisations and authorisations with an expiry date before April 2025 Urgent feed additive authorisation expired [date]

Transitional provisions

Where a change has been made, any measures to enable a transition to the new conditions of use for an additive.

Notes on the most recent update to that entry

The date and a description of the most recent update to an authorisation following a ministerial decision.

A link to any relevant legislation for additional information. This legislation or parts of it may have been revoked by The Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025, but the authorisations themselves are preserved.

The links to the legislation of individual feed additives outline additional feed additive criteria, for example:

  • feed additive composition
  • maximum permitted limits
  • analytical methods

There are many examples of authorisations made under early EU legislation (e.g. Directive 70/524) where individual feed additives may not be directly identifiable by name within the legislation, for example:

  • individual flavourings which are simply referred to in the legislation as ‘all natural products and corresponding synthetic products’ or ‘artificial substances’
  • individual colourants which are simply referred to in the legislation as ‘colourants for foodstuffs’

The register enables a free-text search of entries with the option to also filter by the following fields where included, for individual feed additive entries:

  • Category
  • Functional group
  • Species
  • The nation the authorisation applies in
  • Status

Feed additive categories and functional groups

Feed additive categories and functional groups are defined under assimilated Regulation (EC) 1831/2003, as follows:

  • (1) Technological additives are any substance added to feed for a technological purpose.
  • (a) preservatives: substances or, when applicable, micro-organisms which protect feed against deterioration caused by micro-organisms or their metabolites
  • (b) antioxidants: substances prolonging the storage life of feedingstuffs and feed materials by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation
  • (c) emulsifiers: substances that make it possible to form or maintain a homogeneous mixture of two or more immiscible phases in feedingstuffs
  • (d) stabilisers: substances which make it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of feedingstuffs
  • (e) thickeners: substances which increase the viscosity of feedingstuffs
  • (f) gelling agents: substances which give a feedingstuff texture through the formation of a gel
  • (g) binders: substances which increase the tendency of particles of feedingstuffs to adhere
  • (h) substances for control of radionucleide contamination: substances that suppress absorption of radionucleides or promote their excretion
  • (i) anticaking agents: substances that reduce the tendency of individual particles of a feedingstuff to adhere
  • (j) acidity regulators: substances which adjust the pH of feedingstuffs
  • (k) silage additives: substances, including enzymes or micro-organisms, intended to be incorporated into feed to improve the production of silage
  • (l) denaturants: substances which, when used for the manufacture of processed feedingstuffs, allow the identification of the origin of specific food or feed materials
  • (m) substances for reduction of the contamination of feed by mycotoxins: substances that can suppress or reduce the absorption, promote the excretion of mycotoxins or modify their mode of action
  • (n) hygiene condition enhancers: substances or, when applicable, microorganisms which favourably affect the hygienic characteristics of feed by reducing a specific microbiological contamination
  • (o) other technological additives: substances or, when applicable, microorganisms added to feed for a technological purpose and which favourably affect the characteristics of the feed
  • (2) Sensory additives are any substance added to feed to improve or change the organoleptic properties of the feed, or the visual characteristics of the food derived from animals.
  • (a) colourants:
    • (i) substances that add or restore colour in feedingstuffs
    • (ii) substances which, when fed to animals, add colours to food of animal origin
    • (iii) substances which favourably affect the colour of ornamental fish or birds
  • (b) flavouring compounds: substances the inclusion of which in feedingstuffs increases feed smell or palatability
  • (3) Nutritional additives perform a specific nutritional function.
  • (a) vitamins, pro-vitamins and chemically well-defined substances having similar effect
  • (b) compounds of trace elements
  • (c) amino acids, their salts and analogues
  • (d) urea and its derivatives
  • (4) Zootechnical additives are used to favourably affect the performance of animals in good health or used to favourably affect the environment.
  • (a) digestibility enhancers: substances which, when fed to animals, increase the digestibility of the diet, through action on target feed materials
  • (b) gut flora stabilisers: micro-organisms or other chemically defined substances, which, when fed to animals, have a positive effect on the gut flora
  • (c) substances which favourably affect the environment
  • (d) other zootechnical additives
  • (e) physiological condition stabilisers: substances or, when applicable microorganisms, which, when fed to animals in good health, favourably affect their physiological condition, including their resilience to stress factors
  • (5) Coccidiostats and histomonostats are anti-parasitic substances. No separate functional groups exist under this category.

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