Feed contamination – an unpleasant affair

Protecting yourself and your company against contaminated raw materials and the consequences thereof is vital. Daily practice shows that not all vitamins are created equal and therefore every batch can be different. Sometimes the differences lie in the detail which are so small that you cannot see them.

Managing quality control

The risks are dynamic, not just over a  given period of time. They vary depending on the origin, the handling process, and the transport route of the goods. The quality of the batch of raw materials is not a status that is established once and is then a long-term certified status. On the contrary, it is a dynamic process that must be adhered to continually. For the parties involved, however, there is a high risk as the theoretical possibilities for mistakes and contamination are virtually innumerous.

On the other hand modern analytics can determine minute quantities that are considered to be harmless concerning limit values or even as omnipresent in the environment. Nevertheless, in case of doubt there is a threat of substantial quantities of feedstuffs being blocked, and thus financial damage and a loss of image for all parties concerned.

Act in advance instead of complaining later

To make sure that a delivery of additives does not turn into an unpleasant affair, Lohmann Animal Nutrition has developed and introduced its Quality & Trust quality assurance concept. The objective is to work in the countries of origin of the raw materials only with future-oriented companies. It is no longer a case of hunting for the cheapest supplier, but the most reliable. The system for quality assurance is based on clear considerations as to how an effective solution must look.

The concept begins with the quality assurance at the very beginning of the chain. The subsidiary of Lohmann Animal Nutrition in Shanghai carries out the quality development on site, by Chinese experts with insider knowledge of the domestic market. On the basis of the HACCP principle they develop effective measures together with the supplier with the aim of the general avoidance of risks. They also handle the logistics process to ensure that the goods can be assigned to the respective test reports at any time.

Continual risk analysis

At the same time a constantly updated risk analysis is carried out in Germany with own know-how as a manufacturer, and also with input from external experts for quality assurance and analytics. This is made transparent to all Quality & Trust partner customers in a customer portal. Here there is also access to the current certificates at all times.

The Quality & Trust way offers an insight into production, with a willingness for transparency. Hereby, reliable partnerships are formed on an equal footing where root causes can be fought against together with the supplier. This also offers independent and continual evaluation of the work and the system.

In doing so you can benefit from a significantly increased product safety with a higher reliability of supply, fair pricing and a sustainable solution which supports differentiation on the market.

Better safe than sorry

The quality of vitamins is not just a matter of physical properties, such as particle size or flowability. These continue to constitute a particular quality characteristic of vitamins and vitamin mixtures. But it is also about chemistry. This way a new quality standard for feed additives is being set; Better safe than sorry.

Visit the Lohmann website for further information.