Feed preservation for piglets
Raw material quality can be affected by physical, chemical and especially, microbiological risks, including bacteria, moulds, yeasts and mycotoxins. Controlling the level of feed safety often demands an integrated approach, with monitoring at each part of the feed supply chain.
How to recognise
Animal feed is at constant risk for contamination from various spoilage and pathogenic microbes such as bacteria, moulds, yeasts and mycotoxins. These microbes not only affect the nutritional quality of feed but may also lead to reduced animal performance. Additionally, microbes such as Salmonella have implications for public health.
The impact on the farmer
A lower feed nutritional value or reduced palatability due to contamination can decrease feed intake especially in piglets. The result is lower animal performance and potential health challenges.
Particularly Mycotoxins can impact piglets who are more vulnerable to illness. Mycotoxin contamination can cause clinical or subclinical symptoms resulting in reduced productivity, suppressed immunity and various pathological effects on organs and tissues. This may significantly decrease animal performance, leading to economic losses.