Pig and poultry farming are amongst the most important agricultural activities in the EU, and significant performance gains were previously achieved through the use of in-feed antibiotics. The THRIVE-RITE project aims to provide a strong competitive advantage in these sectors by maximising the performance using natural feed additives as alternatives to the use of in-feed growth promoting antibiotics, which were recently banned in agriculture. Therefore, as antibiotic growth-promoting effects are no longer available to the industry, there is an urgent need to find innovative and long term solutions to maximising the growth performance and efficiency within the pig and poultry sectors to ensure the benefits of safe, wholesome and a sustainable supply of quality food products to the end user can be achieved. The THRIVE-RITE project will address these issues by undertaking a comprehensive programme of nutrition research to inform the industry of the benefits of functional foods derived from natural sources as additives to animal feed. Natural feed additives produced by a consortia of SME’s will be assessed by research partners to determine (1) their impact on infectious agents that cause major production losses in the pig and poultry industries, (2) to enhance the safety of meat products by reducing the presence of three of the major bacterial infections associated with human food-borne illness (Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli species) and (3) antioxidant value to pig and poultry meat for improving its quality and shelf life. The project will be of benefit to and impact on primary livestock producers, animal health and welfare, SME’s and provide a higher quality product to the end consumer. THRIVE-RITE provides a clear potential for alternatives to in-feed antibiotics and the program is designed to ensure that the information is disseminated to provide effective tools and long-term solutions to the industry for livestock health and production management.