Whether the product is a food that is complete and balanced or a specialty supplement designed for intermittent feeding, chances are the vitamin, trace mineral, nutritional or functional additives are very concentrated extracts or chemicals that are included at micro amounts. Quantities added are commonly less than a tenth of a percent to extremes of four or five decimals for some elements because the nutrient they deliver is needed in very small quantities — parts per million or billion range. Obviously, any misapplication of these concentrated elements can lead to toxicity if they exceed the targeted dose or nutritional deficiency if underapplied. In essence, this is a highly leveraged position for food/supplement production that has potential for numerous pitfalls. How can we overcome the risks? The solution is dilution …. by virtue of carriers.
As an example, a typical premix for a food is included at levels between 0.1% to 1% (2 to 20 lb. per ton) depending on the efficiency of the mixing equipment. Most foods will use both a vitamin and a trace mineral premix. At the low inclusion level, the premix might contain less than 10% as the active vitamins or trace minerals and at the high inclusion level 5% or less of the nutritional components. In other words, most of the premix is the carrier. If designed properly, in addition to dilution, the carrier provides an effective delivery system that matches the physical properties of the food, allows for effective dispersion across the entire mix which improves the overall uniformity of nutrients across the entire blend, and does so consistently from batch to batch to batch.
