Yes. Studies have shown that feeding Benzoic acid throughout the nursery period can improve growth performance in weaned pigs. In Experiment 1, 350 weaned pigs (DNA 200?×?400; initial body weight 5.9?±?0.04 kg) were assigned to one of five feed treatments, each with 14 pens. The feeds were fed in three phases: Phase 1 from weaning to day 10, Phase 2 from day 10 to day 18, and Phase 3 from day 18 to day 38. Treatment 1 did not contain benzoic acid in all three phases (weaning to day 42). Treatment 2 contained 0.50% benzoic acid in all three phases. Treatment 3 contained 0.50% benzoic acid in phases 1 and 2 and 0.25% benzoic acid in phase 3. Treatment 4 contained 0.50% benzoic acid in phases 1 and 2 and no benzoic acid in phase 3. Treatment 5 contained 0.50% benzoic acid in phase 1, 0.25% benzoic acid in phase 2, and no benzoic acid in phase 3. Over the entire period, pigs fed 0.50% benzoic acid in the first two phases and 0.25% benzoic acid in the last phase had higher mean daily gain (ADG) than pigs fed no benzoic acid in all three phases or 0.50% benzoic acid in the first two phases and no benzoic acid in the last phase, while pigs fed the other treatments had intermediate levels of benzoic acid. Pigs fed 0.50% benzoic acid in the first two phases and 0.25% benzoic acid in the final phase had improved gain-feed ratio (G:F) compared to pigs fed no benzoic acid in all three phases, pigs fed 0.50% benzoic acid in the first two phases and no benzoic acid in the third phase, or pigs fed 0.50%, 0.25%, and no benzoic acid, respectively.

For Experiment 2, two groups of 1,053 finishing pigs (total 2,106 pigs; PIC 337?×?1,050; initial 33.3?±?1.9 kg) were tested for 101 days. Dietary treatments were based on corn-soybean meal-DDG with solubles supplemented with no, 0.25%, or 0.50% benzoic acid. Overall, there was a trend toward increased mean daily feed intake (linear, P = 0.083) but decreased G:F (linear, P < 0.05) in pigs fed increased benzoic acid.

In Experiment 3, 2,162 finishing pigs (DNA 600 × PIC 1050; initially 31.4 ± 2.2 kg) were used over a 109-day trial. Dietary treatments contained or did not contain 0.25% benzoic acid. G:F increased in pigs fed benzoic acid throughout the experimental period. In conclusion, feeding benzoic acid throughout the finishing period improved growth performance, while an increase in feed to grow-finish pigs was observed in one experiment but not in the other.

References:

[1] GAFFIELD K, WOODWORTH J C, DEROUCHEY J M, et al. 228 Effect of Benzoic Acid Feeding Strategy on Weanling Pig Growth Performance[J]. Journal of animal science, 2023, 25 11: 0. DOI:10.1093/jas/skad341.160.

[2] GAFFIELD K N, BROMM J J, DEROUCHEY J, et al. Evaluating the effects of benzoic acid on nursery and finishing pig growth performance[J]. Accounts of Chemical Research, 2024, 22 3. DOI:10.1093/tas/txae049.