1,388 research outputs found
Proposal for a feed consumption tool for animal dietary exposure assessment
No full textAccurate information on the individual amount of feed consumed in daily life is the basis for proper estimation of animal dietary exposure to hazards. In the absence of a comprehensive database, regulators and competent bodies/authorities and other stakeholders from the industry and academy use different approaches to estimate feed consumption, mainly relying on the selection of default values for body weights, daily intakes and diet/ration composition. In this context EFSA has funded a project for the development of a feed consumption database using a standardized feed classification system, in support of a more accurate estimation of animal dietary exposure. The presentation will provide a brief overview of the project results and their potential contribution in improving animal feed consumption refinement.
Ref. Pinotti L., Pastorelli G., Varese G., Cheli F., Di Lorenzo C.3, Montanelli S., Landolfi C., Mangano G., Gazerro C., Perricone V., Ottoboni M., Moradei A., Abbate R., Luciano A., Mercogliano F.
A proposal for the development of a feed consumption database using a standardized feed classification system doi: 10.2903/sp.efsa.2024.EN-903
<i>No se sabe</i>: entrevista a Luciano Fermín Bongiorno
No full textEntrevista al Licenciado en Música (UNLP) Luciano Fermín Bongiorno, cuyos principales estudios versan sobre el autoacompañamiento musical.Al hacer clic en el enlace que figura en "Documentos relacionados", pueden accederse a todos los trabajos de Luciano Fermín Bongiorno presentes en el repositorio.Radio Universidad Nacional de La Plat
Influence of Traditional vs Alternative Dietary Carbohydrates Sources on the Large Intestinal Microbiota in Post-Weaning Piglets
No full textIn this study, common cereal grains were partially replaced by former foodstuffs products (FFPs) in post-weaning piglets' diets, to investigate how these alternative ingredients influence the faecal microbiota in the post-weaning period. Twelve post-weaning piglets were housed for 16 days in individual pens and were then fed two diets: a standard wheat-barley-corn meal diet and a diet containing 30% FFPs, thus partially substituting conventional cereals. The growth performance was monitored and faecal microbiota was characterized by the next generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The results showed no detrimental effects on growth performance when FFPs were used. However, the FFP diet decreased the bacterial richness and evenness in the large intestine, while minor differences were observed in the taxa composition. The core microbiota composition was only slightly affected, and no differences between the two groups in the gut microbiota composition at the phylum level over time were observed. Thus, although these results should be interpreted with caution, as they are case-specific, FFPs can be potentially used as alternative carbohydrate sources in post-weaning piglets, but further investigations are necessary to clarify their impact on gut health when used for a longer period
Feed quality & safety: An academia/research perspective
No full textThe EU has among the highest food and feed safety standards in the world to protect consumers, animals, plants and the environment. Despite this, food and feed safety incidents are reported every year when products or ingredients in food and feed have failed to meet these standards. In light of this it has been consolidated the idea that feed and food are the two sides of the same medal. As a result, farmers, nutritionists, industry, academia and governments have been forced to pay serious attention to animal feedstuff production processes, thereby acknowledging that animal feed safety is an essential prerequisite for human food safety. In this context it is essential to integrate knowledge on feed quality, safety and feed supply. Consequently, the use of new/alternative/innovative/novel sources of energy and protein in animal diets, which is expected to conform to adequate quality, traceability, environmental sustainability and safety standards, is an emerging issue in livestock production system. In light of these aspects, the presentation will provide a brief overview of the potential contribution of academia
Growth performance and gut microbiota in post-weaning piglets fed diets containing bakery/confectionary former food products as cereal substitute
No full textStandardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus in bakery meal fed to pigs and effects of bakery meal on growth performance of weanling pigs
No full textTwo experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses that microbial phytase improves the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of phosphorus (P) in bakery meal and that corn may be replaced by bakery meal in diets for weanling pigs without negative effects on growth performance. Two sources of bakery meal were used in experiment 1 and one of these sources was also used in experiment 2. In experiment 1, eighty weanling barrows (initial body weight: 14.25 ± 1.91 kg) were allotted to a randomized complete block design with 10 diets and 8 replicate pigs per diet. Two basal diets based on each source of bakery meal (i.e., bakery meal 1 and bakery meal 2) were formulated without addition of microbial phytase. Eight additional diets were formulated by adding 500, 1000, 1500, or 3000 units of microbial phytase to each of the 2 basal diets. Pigs were housed individually in metabolism crates and feces were collected quantitatively for 4 d after 5 d of adaptation. Results indicated that greater increases in apparent total tract digestibility and STTD of P were observed in bakery meal 1 compared with bakery meal 2 when phytase was added to diets (interaction, quadratic, P < 0.05). In the second experiment, 160 newly weaned pigs (initial body weight: 7.17 ± 0.94 kg) were randomly allotted to 5 treatments with 8 pens per treatment and 4 pigs per pen. A 2-phase feeding program was used with d 1–14 being phase 1 and d 15–35 being phase 2. A control diet, containing primarily corn, soybean meal, and no bakery meal was formulated in each phase. Four additional diets in each phase were formulated by replacing 250, 500, 750, or 1000 g/kg of corn in the control diet with bakery meal. Results indicated that for the overall 5-wk nursery period, increasing concentrations of bakery meal tended (linear, P = 0.064) to reduce average daily gain and reduced (linear, P < 0.01) gain to feed ratio of pigs, whereas blood indicators of energy and protein utilization were not affected. In conclusion, digestible P in bakery meal may be increased by including microbial phytase in the diets, but a full replacement of corn with bakery meal in diets for weanling pigs may reduce growth performance
Detection of microplastics in feces of pig fed Former Food Products
No full textFormer food products (FFPs) have been authorized as alternative feed ingredients for livestock in Europe. However, recent scientific evidence suggests that in feed produced from FFPs, there was presence of plastic packaging remnants. Accordingly, these contaminants, especially microplastics (MPs), are known to occur in biological matrices including feces. This is of serious animal health and environmental concern as well as food safety issues for consumers. Hence, the aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of the selected method for MPs sampling, digestion, and extraction in pig feces.
A total of 36 fecal samples were collected from growing-finishing pigs fed control diet or diets containing either 30% sugary FFPs or 30% salty FFPs (n=12 per group). The feces were directly collected from the rectum and placed in an aluminum bag. The sugary FFPs included confectionary products while the salty FFPs were made up of bakery products or pasta. In each fecal sample, three replicates of 3 g of feces were obtained from random spots. To digest organic matters in feces, 25 mL of 30% H2O2 was added to 3 g of feces in a beaker for a week at room temperature. An additional three samples were spiked with pieces of blue polypropylene to check if the digestion process can change the color and shape of the plastics. Later, 100 mL of saturated NaCl solution (density: 1.2 g/cm3) was added to the sample for density separation. After settled overnight, the samples were filtered and sieved (pore size: 0.5 mm). Then, pretreated feces were inspected under stereomicroscope to detect possible MPs. The suspected particles found were placed in a petri to be analyzed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for confirmation.
The results from spiked samples showed that neither the color nor the shape of plastics was changed due to the H2O2 digestion. However, with the chosen method, it was not able to detect any MPs in the collected feces, which may be subjected to several factors. The original MP contamination level in FFPs was relatively low and the inclusion level of FFPs in the pig’s diet was 30%, which led to a dilution effect in the final diet. Considering the feed intake of pigs and the possible retention of MPs in their intestine, the amounts of MPs excreted could be less than ingested. In addition, the distribution of MPs in feces was not even, which made the detection of MPs more challenging. Therefore, more research is needed to clearly understand the fate of MPs in FFPs, whether they remain in animal’s intestine or they are excreted via feces or urine as well as the proportion of retention and excretion. Furthermore, as currently there is no standard protocol for MPs extraction in animal feces, other methods can be tested to see their effectiveness and to develop optimized protocol
Circular Feed Production and Consumption in the Context of Smart Animal Nutrition
No full textSmart nutrition represents an innovation in farm animal nutrition and is one of the most promising ways to promote safe, high-quality animal products such as meat and milk, high animal welfare, and minimal impact on the environment. Smart livestock nutrition implies also the design of high nutritious diets for feeding animals in line with their needs and requirements. This goal can be achieved not only by selecting ingredients characterized by high nutrient density and digestibility, but also by looking for sustainable ingredients, including “circular” ingredients from waste and from nature. Using such alternative feed ingredients in the diet of farm animals is interesting for several reasons. Food leftovers are one way of converting losses from the food industry into ingredients for the animal feed industry, thereby keeping nutrients in the food chain. These materials can be extremely rich in carbohydrates, free sugars, and, depending on their origin, also in fats. Food leftovers, such as former food products (FFPs) and bakery by-products (BBPs) are subject to considerable processing including technological (milling, etc.) and heat treatments (cooking, extrusion, etc.). These impact not only the availability of nutrients and the kinetics of digestion but also on GIT/rumen health/functions and the animal response. FFPs and BBPs are safe from a microbiological point of view since; their microbiological loads are always below established tolerance levels. Using leftovers as feed also responds to the requirements of the circular economy. Understanding that food that is not suitable for human consumption is actually a resource rather than a waste product, our food industry can limit the amount of waste sent to landfill, thus saving costs and reducing the environmental impact of the food production chain. This approach can be considered a virtuous example of smart livestock nutrition and feeding that can and will become an option in sustainable animal production optimization
Global assessment of land and water resource demand for pork supply
No full textGrowing population and rising incomes are leading to an ever-increasing demand for animal-based foods. Pigmeat is currently the most consumed meat globally, even exceeding the consumption of poultry meat. Despite the disproportionate environmental burden of animal production—mostly attributable to associated feed demand, up-to-date country-scale quantifications of the land and water impacts of the concentrate feed (mainly cereals and soybean) and co-products required to support pig production are still missing. In addition, the specific role that international feed trade plays in separating resource use from consumption and in altering resource use efficiencies remains unclear. This paper analyses at a country-scale the internal and external consumption of natural resources (i.e. land and water) to support pig feed production in 2018. Combining data on the country- and production system-specific diets and crop-specific yields with an agro-hydrological model, we find that 64.1 Mha of agricultural land (5% of all croplands) and 332.6 km3 of water (both green and blue) (6% of all agricultural water use) were utilized by China, EU-27 and the United States (accounting for 70% of pigmeat production) to produce pig feed alone. Comparing domestic feed production scenarios with those that also consider the feed trade, we show that global resource consumption tends to be more efficient when considering international feed trade, especially in China and EU-27, while sometimes causing significant environmental impacts. This demonstrates the need to investigate the environmental effects of pig feed associated both with the domestic use of natural resources, but also to the ones displaced by international trade
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