The Division of Animal Feeds within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine accepted the chelated trace minerals category earlier this year and recommended that AAFCO accept this definition for inclusion in its official publication.
“The formation of a new feed ingredient category for Mintrex is an extremely important step that gives us the opportunity to define a new class of trace minerals,” says Dr. Chris Knight, vice president of research and development for Novus.
“This announcement demonstrates to our customers in the animal health and nutrition industry that Mintrex is a next-generation trace mineral, truly defined as a chelate.”
In scientific terms, chelation means the trace minerals in Mintrex are bound with a ligand.
This creates a stable complex in the acidic pH of the upper gastrointestinal tract, reduces breakup (or dissociation) of the mineral, helps reduce losses caused by antagonisms and protects the mineral for efficient delivery and uptake in the small intestine. 
