The expert match sends a feed additive regulatory or formulation question, such as an EU renewal, a US GRAS notice or a diet review, to independent experts. A regulatory question ends in an authority decision; a formulation question concerns the diet and the trial.
The site sells no additive, names no partner and promises no response time. The page sets out which tasks the form takes in each jurisdiction, what its ten fields ask, how to prepare a request and how form data is handled.
Every statement here is compiled from named primary sources; see the methodology.
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We pass requests on to independent suppliers and experts; nobody pays to be named on this site (see the editorial policy).
What Does the Expert Match Do?#
The expert match turns one written question about a feed additive into a request that independent regulatory or formulation experts can answer. It takes any additive from the five feed additive categories of the EU (technological, sensory, nutritional, zootechnical, coccidiostats and histomonostats), or one with US status. Under Article 2(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 a feed additive is a substance, micro-organism or preparation, other than feed material and premixtures, intentionally added to feed or water to perform one or more of the functions in Article 5(3). The tasks are EU dossiers, renewals, Article 13 modifications and holder changes; US food additive petitions, GRAS notices, Animal Food Ingredient Consultations and NADA or VFD questions; China MARA registration; and formulation review and trial design.
The form offers seven jurisdictions: EU, GB, US, China, India, Brazil or other. Questions about product, price or volume belong to the supplier quote request instead.
Regulatory or Formulation: Which Expert Fits Your Question?#
A feed additive regulatory consultant handles a task that ends in an authority decision, such as an EU application or a US petition, while a formulation expert handles the diet and the trial. In the EU an authorisation runs for 10 years (Article 9(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003) and a renewal application is due at the latest one year before the expiry date (Article 14(1)). In the US the routes are a food additive petition, a GRAS notice, an Animal Food Ingredient Consultation (AFIC) or a new animal drug approval.
The table lists each task with its expert type, jurisdiction and governing instrument.
| Task | Expert | Jurisdiction | Instrument and date | Background page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New authorisation application | regulatory | EU | Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003: applicant or representative established in the Union (Art. 4(3)); EFSA opinion within 6 months of a valid application plus clock-stops (Art. 8(1)); authorisation for 10 years (Art. 9(8)) | EU feed additive authorisation |
| Renewal | regulatory | EU | Art. 14(1): renewable for 10-year periods; application at the latest one year before expiry | EU Register of Feed Additives |
| Modification or holder change | regulatory | EU | Art. 13 (holder may apply to change terms, Art. 13(3)); a holder is named only for zootechnical additives, coccidiostats and histomonostats and GM additives (Art. 9(6)) | EU feed additive regulation |
| Food additive petition | regulatory | US | 21 CFR 571, listing in 21 CFR 573; filing notice within 30 days; decision within 90 days, extendable to 180 | US feed additive regulation |
| GRAS notice | regulatory | US | 21 CFR 582 and 584, or animal food GRAS notice (21 CFR 570 subpart E); FDA response 180 days from filing, extendable by 90 (21 CFR 570.265(b)) | none |
| Animal Food Ingredient Consultation (AFIC) | regulatory | US | FDA GFI #294, final 2025-01-06 (Federal Register 2025-01-07), after the FDA-AAFCO memorandum of understanding expired on 2024-10-01 | none |
| NADA or VFD | regulatory | US | new animal drug 21 CFR 514; medicated feed 21 CFR 558; VFD 21 CFR 558.6 | veterinary feed directive |
| GB authorisation | regulatory | GB | SI 2025/361 reg. 23(3): no period of validity or end date from 2025-04-01 | GB feed additive authorisation |
| MARA registration | regulatory | China | Regulation on the Administration of Feed and Feed Additives (2017 revision); authority MARA | China feed additive regulation |
| Brazil question | regulatory | Brazil | Decreto 12.031 of 2024-05-28, in force 2024-07-08 | Brazil feed additive regulation |
| Diet or formulation review | formulation | any | none (no legal instrument) | feed additives by species |
| Trial design | formulation | EU | Art. 3(2): Member States may authorise non-authorised substances for scientific experiments under official supervision, except antibiotics | none |
Agency time limits are legal deadlines for the authority, not the time an expert needs. A holder is named in the act only for zootechnical additives, coccidiostats and histomonostats and GM additives, so a holder change arises only for those. A question about price, grade or volume goes to request quotes from feed additive suppliers instead.
The Form Fields and Why Each One Matters#
The form asks for ten fields, and each one decides which independent expert can take the question.
| # | Field | Options or format | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Type | regulatory or formulation | decides which expert group receives it |
| 2 | Jurisdiction | EU, GB, US, China, India, Brazil, other | each market has its own instrument |
| 3 | Task | EU dossier, renewal, Art. 13 modification, holder change; US food additive petition, GRAS notice, AFIC, NADA/VFD; China MARA registration; formulation review, trial design | names the deliverable |
| 4 | Additive and species | additive name with EU identification number or US status; target species | species and status fix the legal frame |
| 5 | Short description | free text | the question in your own words |
| 6 | Timeline | target date or expiry date | an EU renewal application is due one year before expiry |
| 7 | Budget | optional range | scopes the work |
| 8 | Company type | for example additive producer, premixer, feed mill, distributor | the role decides who may apply or hold |
| 9 | NDA | yes or no | data is shared only after an agreement when needed |
| 10 | Contact and consent | name, company, email; consent box | nothing is sent without consent |
Budget is the one optional field. The short question boxes on other pages of the site ask four of these fields (topic, species, country and short description), all contained in this longer set.
How to Prepare a Good Request#
Prepare a request in eight steps, starting with the identification number or US status of the additive and ending with the NDA question.
- Identify the additive by its EU identification number or US status; the EU Register and the authorising act are the status source, never a seller's claim.
- Choose the task and jurisdiction from the table above.
- Name the target species as the act names them; the EU application form uses a new species designation from 2026-12-16 (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1115).
- State where the applicant is established; an EU applicant or its representative is established in the Union (Article 4(3)).
- Set the timeline against the agency clocks: EU renewal application one year before expiry, EFSA opinion 6 months plus clock-stops; US filing notice 30 days, decision 90 to 180 days, GRAS response 180 days plus 90.
- List the data that exists: three reference samples for the EU reference laboratory (Article 7(3)(f)); for an AFIC, manufacturing data (batch analysis, stability, methods), intended use and species, and a safety assessment.
- Give a budget range if one exists.
- Say whether an NDA is needed before data is shared.
Cost is context for the budget field: the average direct cost of an EU application is EUR 1.1 million (EUR 50,000 to 3.4 million by additive type) and of a renewal dossier EUR 216,000, according to Commission SWD(2024) 46 (2024). The average whole EU procedure took 3.3 years for 2004 to 2017. Both request types are compared on the feed additive quote and expert match tools page.
What Happens After You Send the Form#
After you send the form, your question goes to independent regulatory or formulation experts. The form promises no response time, no number of experts, no named partner and no screening of recipients.
An expert prepares the work and an authority decides. An EU authorisation is a Commission implementing regulation adopted after the EFSA opinion, and an AFIC ends with a consultation complete letter from the FDA, which is not an approval.
Privacy, Confidentiality and Consent#
The form sends your details only with your consent, and the NDA field lets you say that a non-disclosure agreement must be signed before you share data. How long form data is kept is set out in the privacy policy.
The line under the form says that we pass requests on to independent suppliers and experts and that nobody pays to be named on this site.
Questions About Feed Additive Consultants#
Readers looking for a feed additive consultant often ask what an animal nutritionist does, so the answer below frames it for feed additive work.
What does an animal nutritionist do?#
In feed additive work, an animal nutritionist is the formulation expert who reviews a diet and designs the feeding trial for an additive. An EU trial with a non-authorised additive needs Member State authorisation under official supervision, never for antibiotics (Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003).