Current status: Closed
This consultation ran from June 4, 2026, to July 6, 2026
About the consultation
We were seeking comments on the following amended single ingredient feed (SIF) description for zinc amino acid chelate.
Background
The Feeds Regulations, 2024 require a proponent to submit a pre-market application for new feed ingredients or SIFs that have been modified such that they differ from an approved SIF, or SIFs that are for a new purpose. We evaluate the information in the application to establish that the SIF is safe, effective, and labelled correctly.
Approved SIFs are listed and described in the Canadian Feed Ingredients Table (CFIT), which is incorporated by reference (IBR) into the Feeds Regulations, 2024. Our Incorporation by Reference Policy requires that a consultation be conducted before changes to IBR documents are made. Refer to Documents incorporated by reference under the Feeds Regulations, 2024 for additional information.
About the evaluation
Our Animal Feed Program (AFP) has completed a detailed evaluation of an application for the amendment of an existing SIF description: zinc amino acid chelate.
The evaluation considered information related to:
- the safety of feeding this SIF to livestock with respect to animal health
- the safety of foods derived from livestock that eat this SIF
- the safety of workers and bystanders exposed to this SIF
- environmental safety
- the fit-for-purpose and efficacy of this SIF for the intended livestock species
The results of our evaluation of available scientific data supports the safety and efficacy of zinc amino acid chelate and its intended purpose as a source of zinc.
Therefore, we recommend that the amended description for zinc amino acid chelate be approved and the amended SIF description replace the current SIF description in the CFIT, accordingly.
Amended SIF description
We intend to amend the existing SIF description for zinc amino acid chelate (2-503-014) under subclass 5.3 (Minerals) of class 5 (Nutritional ingredients) in part 2 of the CFIT.
The amendment to this description consists of added wording indicating that the specific amino acid or amino acids used during manufacturing can be part of the SIF name.
The amended description is:
2-503-014 Zinc amino acid chelate
is the product resulting from the chelation of a soluble zinc salt with amino acids.
The name may include the specific chelated amino acid or amino acids used during the manufacturing process. For example, zinc methionine chelate or zinc methionine and lysine chelate.
It shall be labelled with guarantees for minimum percent zinc, and minimum percent bound zinc.
Additional information
This description will remain in part 2 of the CFIT as different manufacturing processes might introduce hazards.
The change to allow specific amino acid(s) to be listed in the SIF name rather than the more general term "zinc amino acid chelate" allows flexibility in the naming and provides more information to the purchaser. The general term "amino acid chelate" should remain as the approved SIF name, as products may be made from several different amino acids and listing them all might prove cumbersome.
Who was the focus of this consultation
Animal feed stakeholders are the focus of this consultation, including:
- suppliers of feed ingredients
- commercial feed manufacturers
- feed importers, distributors and retailers
- industry associations
- other government departments
- international trading partners
- veterinarians
All comments from industry, governments, the public, or other organizations or individuals, were welcome.
Next steps
We will review all the comments received. If no significant scientifically valid concerns are raised, we will finalize the approval of the amended description for zinc amino acid chelate and issue the approval to the applicant.
If significant concerns are raised, we will evaluate the additional information.
This amended SIF description will be added to the CFIT at the next update.
Related information
Contact us
Animal Feed Program (AFP)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Email: cfia.afp-paa.acia@inspection.gc.ca