Group petitions FDA to change animal feed rule

The Humic Products Trade Association wants the Food and Drug Administration to change its rules on food additives.

The group, which advocates for the commercial use of humic products, has petitioned the administration for new regulations that allow for the safe use of humate, fulvic acid and humic substances as a source of iron in animal feed.

Humic substances are natural organic matter found in the soil. According to the International Humic Substances Society, they make up much of the characteristic brown color of decaying plant debris and contribute to the brown or black color in surface soils. Fulvic acids are soluble compounds that are extracted from humic subtances. 

Humic products, which contain humic substances, fulvic acids and humates, have been primarily used in commercial agriculture as soil amendments and fertilizer additives, in dietary supplements and livestock feeds.