Feed additives

The largest constituent that makes up an aquafeed are ingredients that deliver the essential nutrients (e.g., protein, lipid, carbohydrates, major and trace elements, and vitamins) and energy requirements in farmed aquatic animals. However, feed additives are not among these ingredients and are defined as compounds incorporated into an aquafeed in small quantities for purposes other than meeting nutritional requirements. The purposes for using feed additives are to enhance the performance (e.g., growth and immune responses) of farmed aquatic animals, improve their aquatic environment (i.e., water quality), enhance the physio-chemical properties in the feed, and/or promote the food quality of the harvested aquatic animal. Therefore, feed additives are referred to as “functional” because they support specific functions in feed formulations. This chapter includes functional feed additives such as probiotics, prebiotics, phytogenics, organic acids, enzymes, hormones, binders, microencapsulation, pigmenting agents, palatability enhancers (attractants), antioxidants, and feed preservatives will be reviewed for their application in aquafeeds. Furthermore, this chapter will discuss the implications of the legislation on additives in aquafeeds in different global regions.