Soon to come: Webinar on calcium, the double edged sword

29-11-2019 | Feed additives | News

All About Feed, in cooperation with DuPont Animal Nutrition, will hold a webinar on the necessary feed ingredient calcium. On December 6, 2 speakers shall enlighten the audience on why calcium can be called a ‘double edged sword’.

The reason to speak of the double edged sword is that on one hand, it is a necessary ingredient for pig and poultry production. On the other, it has become clear in recent years that too much calcium or the wrong particle size can be detrimental for digestion.

Back to the fundamentals of calcium

It’s necessary to go back to the fundamentals of calcium: how it responds to the conditions in the gut and how it interacts with other essential nutrients. Things are even more inextricably connected than previously thought; making the right choices for correct diet formulation and optimal performance of the animals depends on more factors than is often assumed.

Now which factors need considering exactly? To enlighten and update our viewers on this matter, All About Feed in cooperation with DuPont will host a webinar on calcium with practical recommendations to be incorporated in feed formulation. The webinar, featuring 2 expert speakers, will be broadcast live from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on December 6, 10am Central European Time (CET).

Calcium: the unexpected anti-nutrient

The webinar will be started by Rachael Hardy, global technical consultant at DuPont Animal Nutrition. She will discuss how calcium interacts with other nutrients within the gut and the importance of understanding different calcium sources currently used in feed diets. She shall also give an overview of current market situation related to limestone, the most used source of calcium.

Hardy joined DuPont as part of the global innovation team conducting university scale animal trials. For the past 5 years she has worked within the global technical marketing team with a focus on phytase application and combination product selection in swine.

Neutralising anti-nutrient effects of calcium

Dr Arno de Kreij, global segment manager at DuPont Animal Nutrition will address phytase and the calcium-phytate interaction: how it impacts phytase efficacy and the method of phytase application. He will also touch on applying this knowledge to optimise the feeding practice and nutrient availability.

Dr Arno de Kreij is based in DuPont’s Singapore office. He is responsible for portfolio management, including new product development and global marketing.