Find out how feed additive innovations can boost animal health and productivity, leading to better sustainability.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe! 
With many poultry and livestock producers decreasing their use of antibiotics and increasing their use of probiotics and prebiotics, feed additive producers are focused on creating products that support animal health, promote a healthy microbiome and improve sustainability, while maintaining stability and efficacy during and after processing.
According to Feed Strategy’s 2025 Poultry Nutrition & Feed Survey, 54% of respondents said they planned to increase their use of probiotics and 44% planned to increase their use of prebiotics, while 29% said they would decrease their use of subtherapeutic and therapeutic antibiotics. The transition toward antibiotic-free (ABF) production rose to 92% of operations reporting some level of ABF production in 2025 — 33% achieving complete antibiotic elimination — from 83% in 2024.
Susanne Kirwan, Ph.D., global technical service manager – intestinal health at Kemin Industries, said Kemin’s aim is not primarily to be an AGP alternative, “but to enable producers to have a predictable and economical production benefit with as little antimicrobial use as is possible.”
Probiotics can serve as a functional alternative to support the transition away from AGPs, she said.
Alltech’s Dr. Rebecca Delles, innovation and analytics manager, and Dr. Anne Koontz, research manager, said, “rather than being direct substitutes, our solutions aim to enhance the animal’s natural resilience and optimize productivity through targeted nutritional support, strengthening the animal’s natural defenses, and promoting a healthy microbiome.”
Research has shown products such as pro- and prebiotics benefit growth efficiency, gut function and immune readiness when incorporated into the diet.
“Our nutritional technologies are designed to support animal health and performance across a variety of production settings to support producers however they choose to raise their animals, including those that choose to reduce or eliminate antibiotic growth promoters,” Delles and Koontz said.
Lallemand’s marine-derived Bacillus pumilus product serves as an AGP alternative supporting gut health and performance without compromising productivity. Audrey Sacy, poultry product manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, said the product can improve birds’ resilience by strengthening innate and adaptive immunity.
“While Bacillus strains dominate the poultry probiotic market due to their heat stability and enzyme production, this marine-derived strain offers enhanced enzymatic activity and novel antimicrobial compounds,” she said.
Postbiotics are also emerging as a promising AGP alternative, said Vivek Kuttappan, postbiotics global technology adviser for Cargill’s micronutrition and health solutions business, as they offer a stable, consistent and safe solution for gut health management.
“Postbiotics have demonstrated a wide range of benefits in both human and animal health,” he said. “In poultry, postbiotics derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shown promise in improving gut integrity, immune modulation and performance outcomes. Their ability to support microbial balance without introducing live organisms makes them especially valuable in antibiotic-free production systems.”
Understanding the complementary roles of prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics enables the development of comprehensive strategies to support gut function, animal resilience and production efficiency, Delles and Koontz said.
“As interest in microbiome science grows, postbiotics are gaining momentum due to their inherent stability and ability to maintain functionality across a wide range of processing environments and product formats,” said Daniel Ramirez, global director animal health and pet at ADM.
Dr. Mohammad Vadiei, global head of eubiotics at DSM-Firmenich Animal Nutrition and Health, said postbiotics act immediately upon ingestion and are highly compatible with existing feed formulations, making them ideal for modern production systems that demand efficacy, shelf stability and convenience.
“Postbiotics represent a promising future direction for sustainable animal nutrition, offering functional benefits without extended regulatory procedures sometimes associated with live microbial products,” he said.
DSM-Firmenich positions its eubiotics portfolio as “a science-driven alternative to antibiotic growth promoters.”
He explained a precision biotic is a novel class of microbiome modulator designed to influence microbial metabolism — not by altering the composition of the microbiota, but by directing its function.
“Unlike traditional probiotics or prebiotics, which aim to add or feed specific microbes, precision biotics use engineered glycans to target specific microbial pathways and gene expression patterns in the gut,” he said. “Moreover, microbial analyses consistently show a shift toward a more diverse and resilient gut microbiota. This data underpins our approach: delivering comparable or superior zootechnical performance to AGPs while aligning with global efforts to mitigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR).”
Importance of gut health
Gut health is a foundational pillar of poultry production, directly influencing nutrient absorption, immune function, growth performance and food safety, Kuttappan said. The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is responsible for digestion and serves as a critical barrier against environmental stressors and pathogens. Disruptions to gut integrity, caused by poor feed quality, disease, environmental stress or suboptimal management, can compromise bird health and productivity.
A healthy gut is defined by three core components: intact gut tissue, a balanced and beneficial microbiome, and a responsive immune system. Among these, the gut microbiome plays a central role, Kuttappan added.
Recent advances in microbiome research have enabled deeper insights into microbial development and its impact on poultry performance.
“Studies show that the broiler gut microbiome evolves from a simple community dominated by lactate-producing bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillaceae, Streptococcaceae) in the first few weeks of life, to a more diverse ecosystem rich in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producers (e.g., Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae),” Kuttappan said.
SCFAs, especially butyric acid, are vital for gut barrier integrity, inflammation control and nutrient utilization. High-performing flocks exhibit faster microbiome maturation and greater resilience to stressors, while delayed microbial succession in low-performing flocks correlates with higher pathogen loads (e.g., E. coli, Salmonella) and reduced productivity.
“These findings underscore the importance of early life gut modulation. Strategic dietary interventions – such as optimizing feed composition and incorporating targeted feed additives – can accelerate microbiome development, enhance bird resilience and reduce food safety risks,” Kuttappan said. “By understanding the complex interactions within the gut and leveraging advanced feed additive solutions, producers can achieve consistent improvements in performance, health and food safety – without relying on antibiotics.”
Because the microbiome is so complex and interconnected, Delles and Koontz said they prefer to think about it as a whole, rather than focusing on specific microbes too narrowly.
“We strive to have technologies that work through multiple actions, not only promoting a balanced, healthy microbiome, but also supporting overall gut health,” they said. “We take a systems-based approach to gut health. While some components have demonstrated the ability to reduce colonization by undesirable microbes — likely through mechanisms such as competitive exclusion — our primary focus is on promoting a well-balanced and stable microbial environment.”
This broader modulation supports nutrient absorption, immune readiness and overall performance without targeting specific organisms in isolation.
“By fostering microbial diversity and functional redundancy, our aim is to maintain a naturally resilient gut ecosystem,” they said.
Modern poultry flocks face many stressors, including mycotoxins, heat stress, feed variability and pathogen pressure, Sacy said. When birds lack foundational immune conditioning or experience prolonged stress, they are more prone to chronic inflammation, which compromises gut integrity and leads to “leaky gut” conditions. Gut inflammation will trigger changes in intestinal physiology that lead to health problems and intestinal permeability, which allows opportunistic bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Enterococcus to enter systemic circulation, causing secondary infections.
Probiotics can support early gut health by aiding microbiota establishment and immune system development during the critical first days of life.
“This early support can contribute to stronger gut barrier function and set the foundation for improved resilience and performance later in the production cycle,” Sacy said.
Broad-based approaches
ADM’s Ramirez, DSM-Firmenich’s Vadiei and Kemin’s Kirwan all said their work focuses on a broad-based approach to increase efficacy.
“Our work is focused on bacterial strains rather than yeast-based biotics, and more specifically, lactic acid bacteria and Bacilli,” Ramirez said. “Both are Gram-positive bacteria that support the secretion of organic acids and other compounds, modulating, for example, metabolic processes. Unlike yeast-based biotics that broadly address immune function, the functionality of bacterial strains is directly linked to molecular pathways.”
Vadiei said DSM-Firmenich’s portfolio includes targeted and broad-spectrum approaches, depending on the product and species application.
“This dual approach ensures we can support gut health both preventively and adaptively across diverse production systems,” he said.
Kirwan said Kemin’s probiotic offerings target specific gut pathogens such as E. coli, various Enterobacteriaceae, and S. enteritis serovars, in addition to modulating the microbiome more broadly.
“However, just because these pathogens are commonly discussed does not make them the only ‘bugs’ of concern,” she said. “Therefore, we included microbiome sequencing in most of our trials to evaluate the wider microbiome effects of our probiotics. This broader modulation can support resilience, particularly in younger or stressed animals, but also has the potential to explain the consistent improvements we have seen across different species, from broilers and layers to swine.”
Improving health, boosting productivity supports sustainability
There are a variety of ways probiotics can contribute to sustainability in animal nutrition, including improved animal welfare, overall efficiency and reduction of antibiotic use, Kirwan said.
“By improving gut health and overall immunity, there may be a reduction in the use of antibiotics or ionophores that will lead to a reduced environmental impact. Nutritional efficiencies in areas like feed conversion ratio may also be seen from better absorption due to better gut health, thus reducing the macro ingredients needed,” she added.
Delles and Koontz said Alltech’s solutions are designed to contribute to efficient nutrient use, reduced environmental impact and improved animal productivity – all of which support the broader goals of sustainable agriculture.
“By enhancing feed conversion and gut health, our technologies help producers get more from less, aligning with circular economy principles and responsible resource management,” they said.
Probiotics and prebiotics enhance animal health and resilience, reducing reliance on antibiotics and lowering mortality, thus improving the sustainability of production systems; improve feed efficiency, reducing the amount of feed and raw materials needed per kilogram of animal protein, directly supporting circular economy principles; and reduce waste and emissions, as better nutrient absorption results in less nitrogen and phosphorus excretion, helping mitigate environmental impacts, Vadiei said.
“By improving animal performance through antibiotic stewardship and enabling resource-efficient production, our products help producers meet both economic and environmental goals, delivering benefits that scale across livestock systems and geographies,” he added.
Maintaining viability during feed processing
Because feed processing techniques such as pelleting or extrusion involve high heat, pre-, pro- and postbiotics must be able to withstand such conditions and maintain their efficacy.
“Probiotic viability during feed processing, especially during high-heat treatments such as pelleting, is a critical focus in formulation design,” Vadiei said.
Microencapsulation technology protects probiotic cells from thermal degradation and ensuring viability through to ingestion.
“Our probiotics are spore formers, and we leverage our extensive expertise to ensure the most efficient sporulation, which is a prerequisite for a resistant spore,” Kirwan said. “To support this, we have a dedicated team focused on fermentation, backed by well-equipped facilities, and we continue to invest in these resources.”
While general storage conditions are important, she added, what matters most is whether the probiotics can survive under the specific conditions at each customer site.
“To ensure this, we offer recovery and enumeration of CFU (colony forming units) to verify the post-processing viability in their own facilities,” she said.
ADM’s research has found that most whole cell, postbiotic versions of a microorganism have very similar benefits to the probiotic version. In addition, spore formers like Bacilli also have the advantage of being more stable as a probiotic and can be used in feed processing.
“We pay meticulous attention to detail in applying innovative technologies to preserve the functionality of our heat-stable probiotics and postbiotics,” Ramirez said. “The enhanced stability of postbiotics expands opportunities to capitalize on the efficacious benefits of the bacterial strain without being limited to specific finished formats or confronting stability challenges.”
Sacy said Lallemand uses Bacillus species specifically because of their ability to form heat-resistant spores. This natural sporulation allows them to withstand harsh conditions during feed processing, including pelleting and extrusion.
“The marine origin of this strain provides additional robustness, as marine-derived microorganisms often demonstrate superior stress tolerance compared to terrestrial isolates,” she said. “This enhanced stability translates to reliable probiotic delivery in commercial feed manufacturing operations, ensuring consistent product efficacy from mill to farm while maintaining the strain’s beneficial properties throughout the feed production process.”