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Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 1 of 5

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Guidance

Evaluating Allowed Ingredients and Sources of Vitamins and Minerals 

For Organic Livestock Feed

1. Purpose

This guidance clarifies the agricultural, nonsynthetic, and synthetic ingredients permitted in 

organic livestock feed. This guidance also addresses the feed supplements and feed additives that 

must be reviewed for compliance with the USDA organic regulations. 

2. Scope

This guidance applies to all National Organic Program (NOP) certifying agents, certified and 

exempt organic livestock producers, and suppliers of feed, feed supplements, and feed additives.

3. Background

Animal feed labeling requirements are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA) at 21 CFR § 501. Feed additive requirements, the list of approved feed additives that are 

generally recognized as safe (GRAS), and the substances prohibited from use in animal feed are 

published in 21 CFR §§ 570-571, § 573, § 582, § 584, and § 589. The FDA also recognizes the 

list of additives and feedstuffs published in the Association of American Feed Control Officials 

(AAFCO) Official Publication, which is updated and published annually.1

 

Under the USDA organic regulations, organic producers must provide livestock feed pursuant to

7 CFR § 205.237. Section 205.237 states that agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients 

list for livestock feed products must be organically produced. Pasture and range used for feed 

and forage must be certified organic.

2 All forages, feed, and feed supplements must be listed in 

the organic system plan, as required at § 205.201(a)(2). Pursuant to § 205.402(a)(1)), certifying 

agents must verify that all forage, feed, feed supplements, and feed additives provided to organic 

livestock comply with the requirements in § 205.237.

4. Policy

4.1 Certified organic livestock operations must feed organic animals certified organic 

livestock feed, including all pasture and forage crops (§ 205.237(a)).

 1 Copies of AAFCO’s Official Publication may be obtained through their Assistant Secretary-Treasurer. 

For more information, please go to their website at http://www.aafco.org. 2 Please see the Pasture Guidance series NOP 5017 in the NOP Program Handbook for detailed 

information regarding pasture access and management. 
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5030

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

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4.1.1 Certified operations must describe all forages, feed ingredients, formulated feed 

products, feed supplements, and feed additives in the organic system plan (OSP),

as required at § 205.201(a)(2).

4.2 Feed additives and supplements include: 

4.2.1 Nonsynthetic, nonagricultural ingredients, including direct-fed microorganisms 

(“probiotics”), yeast, and enzymes are allowed in organic feed under § 205.237

provided that excluded methods, as specified by § 205.105(e), are not used in 

their production.

4.2.2 Allowed synthetic feed additives and supplements as listed in § 205.603 can be 

used as ingredients in organic livestock feed as per § 205.237(a).

4.2.3 Minerals and vitamins in feed additives or feed supplements identified as 

approved by the FDA at 21 CFR § 501, §§ 510-558, §§ 570-571, § 573, § 582, 

§ 584, § 589, or listed in the current edition of the AAFCO Official Publication

(Mineral Products or Vitamins), including metal amino acid chelates, metal amino 

acid complexes, and metal (specific amino acid) complexes are permitted with the 

following limitations:

a. Proteinated mineral sources (metal proteinates) containing protein sourced 

from slaughter by-products or produced by excluded methods are not 

permitted when fed to poultry or mammals. 

b. Minerals sourced from bone such as bone charcoal, bone meal or bone 

phosphate are considered slaughter by-products and are also not permitted in 

feed for poultry or mammals.

c. Individual minerals and vitamins and minerals may contain other ingredients 

that are considered part of the approved vitamin or mineral source. For 

example, “Vitamin A supplement” has an AAFCO official feed definition as 

“forms of Vitamin A that contains a minimum of guarantee of two million 

International Units of Vitamin A per pound.”3 Minor ingredients such as 

carriers that may be part of the formulation of the Vitamin A supplement 

need not be further reviewed. 

4.2.4 All agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients list for livestock feed 

additives and supplements (i.e. wheat middlings, rice hulls, vegetable oil, or 

molasses) used as carriers, diluents, or dust suppressants for the final formulated 

feed must be certified organic (§ 205.237(a)). 

 3 AAFCO Official Publication, 2011, Section 90.14, Vitamin A Supplement. 
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5030

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

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a. If the product is a premix containing combinations of vitamins and minerals 

that are mixed with other ingredients, all agricultural ingredients, including 

carriers and diluents, on the labels of these products must be organic. If the 

product is purchased in bulk and is not labeled, the purchaser should review

the complete ingredients list from the supplier to verify that all agricultural 

ingredients are organic.

b. Pursuant to § 205.237(b)(5), agricultural ingredients cannot be sourced from 

slaughter by-products from poultry or mammalian sources (if being fed to

poultry or mammals).

4.3 Livestock feed sold, labeled or represented as “100% organic” must contain only 

organically produced and handled agricultural products certified under the NOP 

regulations, for a total content of 100% organic ingredients. All feed additives and other 

ingredients must be organic. 

5. Procedures for Certifying Agents

5.1 Certifying agents must verify that all forages, feed ingredients, formulated feed products, 

bulk feed products, feed supplements, and feed additives fed to organic livestock comply 

with the USDA organic regulations (§ 205.402(a)(1); § 205.237).

5.2 Livestock feed additives and supplements may be certified organic if they contain 

agricultural content that meets the USDA organic requirements, and the formulated 

products are compliant with USDA regulations per § 205.301(e) and § 205.306. 

6. References

6.1 USDA Organic Regulations

§ 205.2 Terms defined.

Feed. Edible materials which are consumed by livestock for their nutritional value. Feed may 

be concentrates (grains) or roughages (hay, silage, fodder). The term, “feed,” encompasses all 

agricultural commodities, including pasture ingested by livestock for nutritional purposes.

Feed additive. A substance added to feed in micro quantities to fulfill a specific nutritional need; 

i.e., essential nutrients in the form of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Feed supplement. A combination of feed nutrients added to livestock feed to improve the 

nutrient balance or performance of the total ration and intended to be:

(1) Diluted with other feeds when fed to livestock;

(2) Offered free choice with other parts of the ration if separately available; or

(3) Further diluted and mixed to produce a complete feed.
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5030

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§ 205.237 Livestock feed.

(a) The producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration 

composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced 

and handled by operations certified to the NOP, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(i), except, 

that, synthetic substances allowed under § 205.603 and nonsynthetic substances not prohibited 

under § 205.604 may be used as feed additives and feed supplements, Provided, That, all 

agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients list, for such additives and supplements, shall 

have been produced and handled organically.

...

(b) The producer of an organic operation must not: ...

(5) Feed mammalian or poultry slaughter by-products to mammals or poultry;

(6) Use feed, feed additives, and feed supplements in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act;...

§ 205.301 Product composition.

...

(e) Livestock feed. 

(1) A raw or processed livestock feed product sold, labeled, or represented as “100 percent 

organic” must contain (by weight or fluid volume, excluding water and salt) not less than 100 

percent organically produced raw or processed agricultural product.

(2) A raw or processed livestock feed product sold, labeled, or represented as “organic” must be 

produced in conformance with §205.237.

§ 205.306 Labeling of livestock feed.

§ 205.603 Synthetic substances allowed for use in organic livestock production. 

...

(d)(2) Trace minerals, used for enrichment or fortification when FDA approved.

(d)(3) Vitamins, used for enrichment or fortification when FDA approved.

6.2 AAFCO Definitions

Carrier: An edible material to which ingredients are added to facilitate uniform incorporation of 

the latter into feeds. The active particles are absorbed, impregnated or coated into or onto the 

edible material in such a way as to physically carry the active ingredient. (AAFCO 2012 Official 

Publication)

Diluent: An edible substance used to mix with and reduce the concentrate of nutrients and /or 

additives to make them more acceptable to animals, safer to use, and more capable of being 

mixed uniformly in a feed. (AAFCO 2012 Official Publication)
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5030

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

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6.3 Other Laws and Regulations

21 CFR § 501 Animal Food Labeling

21 CFR § 582 – 584 Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)

21 CFR § 589 Substances Prohibited from Use in Animal Food or Feed

Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Official Publication

6.4 NOP Program Handbook

NOP 5017 – Pasture Series

Approved on February 28, 2013