Dr. Stuti Baruah
Program Manager – Feed Safety, Trouw Nutrition South Asia
Globally, feed manufacturers face severe challenges in maintaining nutritional value, moisture content, quality and shelf life while balancing the climatic changes, raw material variability and technical constraints. Moisture management and mould control programs should be implemented for maintaining and enhancing the feed mill efficiency.
Fylax Forte-HC liquidis a liquid mould inhibitor with a synergistic blend of organic acids, as well as surfactants. This can significantly reduce press resistance and energy consumption, decreasing the risk of feed blockages at the pelletizer without increasing the risk of microbial growth during feed storage. Trouw Nutrition’s liquid mould inhibitor Fylax Forte HC Liquid contains a patent pending technology, called ActiProp; a blend of buffered and non-buffered organic acids combined with surfactants and emulsifiers to guarantee reduction, milling efficiency increase, nutrient value preservation and feed shelf-life prolongation. This solution has been proven in multiple commercial situations.Fylax Forte-HC-SP (powder product) is synergistic blends of buffered and non-buffered organic acids and other active ingredients.
Fylax® Forte-HC liquid in hydrated solution improves shelf life of broiler feed
Process moisture management is an established concept to improve feed milling efficiency. It has many benefits such as process moisture loss recovery, improved capacity utilization, better pellet durability and less reprocessed fines. A concern was raised whether the addition of plain water without mould inhibitor can be used to improve process moisture without negatively affecting the shelf life. How does the addition of plain water affect feed processing? How does the addition of plain water affect the shelf life when compared to the addition of Fylax Forte-HC liquid in hydrated solution?
Adding plain water in the mixer at an inclusion rate of 2 % during feed processing resulted in an increase of moisture level in pellets (Figure 1).
Addition of plain water without inclusion of Fylax Forte-HC liquid showed a reduction of shelf life by 33 %, compared to feed without added moisture (Treatment 1). However, addition of 1 kg/t Fylax Forte–HC liquid along with 2 % moisture improved the shelf life by 13% compared to Treatment 1 (Figure 2).
Fylax Forte-HC liquid can improve the shelf life, while only using plain water without the inclusion of a potent mould inhibitor, such as Fylax Forte-HC liquid, can be detrimental for the shelf life of feed. Additionally, process moisture management is generally known to compensate moisture loss during processing and increases pellet durability without affecting broiler performance. Process moisture management is also well known to improve the milling efficiency. Surfactants with ActiProp technology in Fylax Forte HC Liquid can effectively improve milling efficiency.
Both Fylax Forte-HC and Fylax Forte-HC-SP prolong the shelf life of extruded aqua feed:
Maintaining product quality during the unavoidable storing time of aqua feeds is a crucial factor in supporting the healthy growth of fish and shrimp. Fylax Forte-HC liquid and Fylax Forte-HC-SP (powder product) are synergistic blends of buffered and non-buffered organic acids and other active ingredients. The buffering of active ingredients allows for a longer shelf life. Fylax Forte-HC liquid contains ActiProp® technology to effectively reduce mould growth. This helps to extend the shelf life and maintain the nutritional value of the aquafeed.
The addition of Fylax Forte-HC liquid and Fylax Forte-HC-SP effectively extend the shelf life of extruded aqua feed in comparison to the control group. The most effective treatment group was Fylax Forte-HC liquid in a hydrating solution of 2 kg of Fylax Forte-HC liquid in 10 kg water. This treatment extended the shelf life of the mash by 131 % and the shelf life of the pellets by 21 % compared to the control group. A similar effect was seen with the inclusion of 2 kg/t of Fylax Forte-HC-SP, which extended the shelf life of the mash by 44 % and the pellets by 12 % (Figure 1a and 1b).
Fylax® Forte-HC liquid improves shelf life of feed and feed mill efficiency in commercial feed mill.
Fylax Forte-HC liquid hasthe ability to lower the surface tension of water thereby improving the feed mill efficiency parameters in pelleted feed, like increased moisture level, reduced energy use of the pelletizerand improved production capacity.
Trouw Nutrition’sfeed processing & quality programmecombines the accurate dosing system Selko-MMS(moisture management system) using an inline microwave moisture sensor, with the broad spectrum mould inhibitor Fylax Forte-HC liquid in one package. Selko-MMS compensates moistureloses in the dynamic feed mill process as the system enables to mix automatically at a precise dosage water and Fylax Forte-HC liquid into the mixer.
Fylax Forte-HC liquid increases the moisture retention and assures optimal dispersion of water throughout the feed material while effectively reducing moulds and prolonging the shelf life.
Experimental design
The trial was conducted on broiler starter feed formula. FylaxForte-HC liquid was added to the feed stuffs in the mixer using flat spraying nozzles. Per treatment three batches of 2.4 tonne were produced to compare the treatments. Three treatments were applied:
• Control: normal production method with competitoranti-mould product
• 1% HS: 9.25 kg of moisture and 0.75 kg Fylax Forte-HC liquidper tonne feed
• 1.5% HS: 13.87 kg of moisture and 1.13 kg Fylax Forte-HC liquidper tonne feed
Moisture content (%) and activity of water (Aw) were measuredat 5 moments during production. Those moments were aftermixing, after conditioning, after pelleting, after cooling and atbagging. In addition, the pellet durability index (PDI), shelf life(stress test), throughput (t/h), feeder press rate (bar) and pressing energy (A). The stress test is based on exposure of the end product to a temperature of 37°C and a relative humidity of >80%, until mould growth is visible to the eye. Additionally,after four weeks of storage the feed was tested on moisture content (%), Aw, temperature (°C), mould count (cfu/g), aflatoxincontent (AFB1 in ppb) and shelf life (ST in days).
Table 1: Moisture Content and Shelf life after Bagging
The use of Fylax® Forte-HC liquid results in increased moisture content of the final feed, but with less mould growth after four weeks of storage (table 1). With the use of 1% HS, the moisture content at bagging was increased with 4.8%(table 1). With 1.5% HS 7.6% more moisture was seen at bagging, but with a similar Aw value.The pelletizer pressing energy was decreased with the addition of 1% and 1.5% HS, with 3.8% and 7.7%, respectively(figure A). The feeder press rate increased with 5.1% for both treatments. The throughput was increased with 2.1% and2.9% respectively (figure B) resulting in a higher feed mill efficiency. The pellet durability index was already high in the control batches (91.3) and it slightly increased after addition of 1% and 1.5% HS to 91.5 and 91.9 respectively.
Energy savings, increasing throughput /hour, more moisture retention with effective mould control ensures feed mill optimisation and shelf-life extension in commercial feed mills.
Conclusion:
Spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, such as mould, yeast, enterobacteria, E coli can negatively impact feed quality and nutritional value. On the other hand, effective moisture management can positively impact feed processing efficiency and throughput. Fylax Forte HC Liquid and Fylax Forte HC SP are pillars of effective mould control and feed mill efficiency programs used across geographies.
(Sources: Trouw Nutrition (Selko) Trial report summary 48 /59/36)
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