Food and feed additives: Production route
Five families: emulsifiers, preservatives, sweeteners and more
What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.The family has five main product groups. Emulsifiers and texturants come from vegetable oils, starch and seaweed, by crushing, milling and esterification. Preservatives and antioxidants are mostly small synthetic molecules, with natural extracts and cultures gaining share. Sweeteners and flavour enhancers range from fermented MSG to synthetic sucralose and plant-extracted stevia. Feed amino acids and vitamins are large-scale chemicals and fermentation products with commodity price cycles. Enzymes, probiotics and specialty feed additives, including methane inhibitors, are biotech products with higher margins.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emulsifiers and texturants (lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, polysorbates, modified starch, pectin, carrageenan, xanthan, guar) | not published (IMARC lists emulsifiers among main types) | varies; lecithin about 1-3% of crude soybean oil (indicative) | starch plants 100-1,000 kt/yr; emulsifier plants 10-50 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | starch milling gives gluten feed and germ oil | tracks soybean oil, palm oil and maize prices |
| Preservatives and antioxidants (sorbates, benzoates, propionates, nitrites, BHA, BHT, TBHQ, rosemary extract, cultures) | not published | not published | chemical plants of 10-100 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | not material | tracks petrochemicals; Chinese supply sets prices (indicative) |
| Sweeteners and flavour enhancers (high-intensity sweeteners, polyols, MSG, yeast extracts) | not published; MarketsandMarkets says sugar substitutes are a dominant driver | not published | MSG plants of 100+ kt/yr (indicative) | not published | fermentation biomass sold as feed | not published |
| Feed amino acids and vitamins (methionine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, vitamins A, E, B group, choline) | amino acids projected at 28% of feed additives by 2031 (MarketsandMarkets) | lysine: roughly 2 t glucose per t (indicative) | world-scale plants of 100-300 kt/yr for methionine and lysine (indicative) | not published | fermentation biomass | methionine tracks propylene and natural gas; lysine tracks maize and coal-based energy in China (indicative) |
| Enzymes, probiotics and specialty feed additives (phytase, carbohydrases, yeasts, acidifiers, mycotoxin binders, methane inhibitors) | not published | sugar and nutrients for fermentation | fermentation plants (indicative) | not published | biomass | not published |
How each route works
Emulsifiers and texturants (lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, polysorbates, modified starch, pectin, carrageenan, xanthan, guar)Lecithin is degummed from soybean or sunflower oil during refining. Mono- and diglycerides are made by glycerolysis of fats with glycerine. Starches are wet-milled from maize, cassava or potato and modified chemically or physically. Xanthan is fermented; carrageenan comes from seaweed; pectin from citrus peel.
Large, steady volumes; low margin for commodity starches, higher for specialty texturants.
IMARC 2026; soybeans and maize tiles Preservatives and antioxidants (sorbates, benzoates, propionates, nitrites, BHA, BHT, TBHQ, rosemary extract, cultures)Sorbic, benzoic and propionic acids and their salts are made from petrochemicals (benzoic from toluene oxidation; propionic from ethylene and syngas) and stop mould and yeast. Antioxidants stop fat rancidity. Natural options are rosemary and tocopherols; fermentation-derived cultures and natamycin protect dairy.
Cheap and effective; clean-label demand is pushing natural alternatives.
IMARC 2026; toluene tile (indicative) Sweeteners and flavour enhancers (high-intensity sweeteners, polyols, MSG, yeast extracts)Sucralose is chlorinated sucrose; aspartame is made from fermented amino acids; stevia glycosides are extracted from leaves or made by fermentation; polyols (sorbitol, erythritol) come from starch sugars. MSG is fermented glutamic acid, led by Ajinomoto.
Sugar taxes and health trends push volumes; regulatory scares (aspartame IARC classification 2023, indicative) shift demand between types.
MarketsandMarkets food additives; indicative Feed amino acids and vitamins (methionine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, vitamins A, E, B group, choline)Methionine is made chemically from propylene-derived acrolein, methyl mercaptan and hydrogen cyanide (Evonik, Adisseo, Novus). Lysine, threonine and tryptophan are fermented from sugar or maize glucose, mostly in China. Vitamins A and E are synthesised from citral and isophytol; B vitamins and choline by chemistry or fermentation.
Large, cyclical, commodity-like; Chinese capacity drives price troughs.
MarketsandMarkets 2026; propylene and maize tiles (indicative) Enzymes, probiotics and specialty feed additives (phytase, carbohydrases, yeasts, acidifiers, mycotoxin binders, methane inhibitors)Enzymes and probiotics are fermented by Novonesis, dsm-firmenich, IFF and others. Phytase frees phosphorus in grain. 3-NOP (Bovaer, dsm-firmenich) blocks a methane-forming enzyme in the rumen; seaweed-based Asparagopsis products work in a similar way (indicative).
High margin and growing; methane inhibitors need someone to pay for the reduction (carbon credits, dairy buyers or regulation).
MarketsandMarkets 2026 (key players); indicative Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.