Vitamin E Shortage Creates Challenges for Pork Producers

On July 29, a fire occurred in a BASF plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, halting production of vitamin E, vitamin A and carotenoid products. The plant is projected to resume production of vitamin A in April 2025 and vitamin E and carotenoids in July 2025. Because of this, the swine industry has seen large volatility and increases in pricing of these ingredients included in all diets.

Antioxidant Defense

When pigs have a stressful event, they need to have antioxidant defense as these events can lead to an increase in free radicals. If the animals’ antioxidant status is not able to counteract this increase, oxidative stress can occur. Vitamin E is a type of antioxidant added to swine diets to increase the antioxidant status of the pig. It is a fat-soluble vitamin found in feed ingredients (green plants or seeds) as natural vitamin E,

however the levels present in feed ingredients are not enough to meet the pigs’ body needs. Providing synthetic vitamin E (DL-α-tocopheryl acetate) or natural vitamin E (D-α-tocopheryl acetate) to pig diets is standardly used to meet the pigs’ requirement. The absorbed vitamin E can be used directly as antioxidants in the animals at cell membrane level.

Vitamin E Partial Replacements

Plant-based polyphenols derived from the fruit and plant byproduct industry are antioxidants that are receiving more attention as a partial replacement for vitamin E in swine diets. Polyphenols are secondary plant metabolites that consist of a diverse group of compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannins and other phenolics. They have shown some antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties in several in vitro and in vivo studies. Due to the current shortage and high cost of synthetic vitamin E, they are receiving increased attention as a partial replacement for added vitamin E in swine diets.

We encourage producers to work with their nutritional supplier and premix manufacturer about options in dealing with the current vitamin shortage and higher costs associated with this BASF plant fire.