Wrapping up July: What’s new in the world of pigs?

Delacon and Cargill announce partnership

An interesting cooperation was announced in July: phytogenic feed additive manufacturer Delacon and animal nutrition company Cargill will enter a strategic partnership that will advance the market presence of natural, plant-based feed additives on a global scale. The deal includes a minority equity investment from Cargill.

The partnership will connect Cargill’s expertise in applied nutrition and global presence with Delacon’s know-how and market experience in phytogenic feed additives, a category that uses natural ingredients, including herbs, spices, other plants and their extracts, such as essential oils, to improve animal performance and secure animal health for sustainable, wholesome food production. For Delacon, the partnership will give access to countries worldwide, where it does not have a market presence today.

New tool by Trouw Nutrition

Trouw Nutrition, Nutreco’s animal nutrition business, added a new tool to its Mycotoxin Risk Management programme. The programme’s existing Mycomaster tool can rapidly assess the risk of mycotoxins in feed and raw materials for different animal species. Getting this right is important, as underestimating the risk can lead to animal health issues and subsequently deteriorate production as well as economic performance. The new tool, the NutriOpt Mycotoxin Adviser, provides additional real-time recommendations for final feeds to further reduce animal health risks and improve the predictability of results.

Perstorp: New dietary electrolyte balance calculator

Another new tool: Feed additive manufacturer Perstorp launched a dietary electrolyte balance (dEB) calculator for pigs and poultry, which can be found here. The tool shows the usefulness for nutritionists of calculating the dEB of their diets and makes the benefits of optimising the electrolyte balance clear and tangible. Based on independent research, the tool calculates the potential performance benefit of improving dEB to its optimum of 240 mEq. For swine, a dEB improvement is seen of 60 mEq giving a 4% improvement in slaughter weight. That translates in almost €5.50 more value per pig slaughtered.

BASF launches new vitamin A formulations

Some other innovations that are of interest for the swine business: BASF Animal Nutrition has globally launched Lutavit A NXT, a new vitamin A product line in which ethoxyquin (EQ) is replaced by butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) as stabiliser. According to a press release, the new product delivers a long shelf-life, superior bioavailability and outstanding stability in premix and feed. These vitamin A formulations already meet a new European regulation, requiring to withdraw EQ as a feed additive.

MixScience launches vectorised zinc oxide

Another novelty comes from France, where animal nutrition company MixScience is about to launch oZide, a new product dedicated to the digestive health of swine. The product is a so-called ‘vectorised zinc oxide’, participating to control intestinal flora of pigs, especially during weaning. It is part of MiXscience’s current approach to reducing the use of antibiotics in pig farming, but also to reduce the use of high-dose zinc oxide, which will be banned in the European Union in 2022. The product is combined with a vector, partly composed of an encapsulating agent, in order to release the active agent in a targeted and progressive manner, under the action of intestinal enzymes. Trials in farms showed that the efficacy of the product was equivalent to the use of high-dose zinc oxide. The concept will be shown at SPACE in Rennes, France, in September.

Patented: CombiFerm 3 step fermentation

More product news: having gone through a long development process, animal nutrition company De Heus has received a patent for its CombiFerm 3-step fermentation. The concept takes place in 3 steps – a unique feature according to the company. First a mixture containing lactic acid bacteria is being grown (Optistart). Secondly, a fitting cleansed grain mix (Optimix) is being added. Lastly, after mixing of the 2, within 12 hours a fermented product comes into existence having a pH < 3.5 and a very wide lactic acid/ acetic acid balance.

Some while ago, De Heus developed a fermentation index, to be able to objectively determine the success level of a fermentation process.

Biomin submits EU dossier for Digestarom DC

Following a start to a global launch at VIV Asia in March, feed additive company Biomin has submitted a dossier for the EU authorisation of its phytogenic feed additive Digestarom DC for zootechnical status, based on its ability to improve the performance parameters of weaned piglets.

The dossier, submitted for evaluation in May, includes 3 efficacy trials and 1 tolerance trial with weaned piglets that were conducted to demonstrate the feed additive’s efficacy and safety. The product is built around an encapsulation technology that ensures continuous delivery of active phytogenic compounds throughout the digestive process, demonstrating stability under common pelleting conditions and offers easier handling.

Alkosel authorised in EU

The selenium-enriched yeast AlkoselR397 3000 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC R397) by Lallemand Animal Nutrition has been authorised as a nutritional feed additive for all animal species by the European Commission, with a minimum selenium content of 3,000-3500 mg/kg. Both Alsosel^R397 3000 and Alkosel^R397 2000 are now available for the EU feed producers, both are guaranteed to contain 97 to 99 % of organic selenium and at least 3,150 ppm and 4,700 ppm of selenomethionine respectively (63%).

Both types of Alkosel are produced in Lallemand’s own yeast plants in Grenaa, Denmark and Montreal, Canada, from the selected yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC R397.

Dicosan achieves results like medicated feed

In a presentation at the recent European Symposium of Porcine Health Management (ESPHM), Spanish feed additive manufacturer Norel presented a study evaluating the effect of its product Dicosan, a sodium salt of coconut fatty acid distillate, and its performance on post-weaned piglets.

In total 240 piglets, within 28 days of age were distributed according to their initial body weight into 24 pens with 10 piglets per pen. The animals received a control diet, a control diet with colistin and ZnO or a diet with the sodium salt approach. The research found that the best results achieved by medicated diets could also be achieved by Dicosan.

Vaxxinova opens head office and lab in Netherlands

Vaxxinova, involved in the production of vaccines and diagnostic services, inaugurated a new international head office and research lab, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in late June. The lab consists of 8 separate research areas, built according to modern technological standards and equipped with new technology. Research activities there will focus on new product development and technologies to improve the health of livestock and fish.

Operations will start as from July 1; it is expected to have everything running at full capacity by the end of next year, with 40 employees.

Ceva Phylaxia: New vaccine plant in Hungary

July also saw the opening of a series of production plants servicing the global swine business. Animal health company Ceva inaugurated its new European vaccine production facility in Budapest, Hungary. A further 3,900 m² of space, containing more than 100 pieces of new equipment, were added to the existing campus at a cost of €25 million, creating 60 new jobs.

Ceva Phylaxia has a long history in Hungary, having been present for more than 100 years. Today, the campus lies at the centre of a global vaccine network with Budapest being the single largest R&D and production centre. Over 95% of current production is exported to countries around the world. Antigen production capacity has doubled, and 2 separate laboratories dedicated to inactivated antigen production have also been added.

Metex builds new plant in France

Metabolic Explorer (Metex), an industrial biochemical company specialising in the development and industrial application of green and sustainable biochemical processes, will build a new PDO/BA (1,3 propanediol and butyric acid) production plant. The Carling Saint-Avold chemicals platform in Moselle, France has been chosen as the site for this facility. It is the company’s goal to become the leading supplier of butyric acid for e.g. animal nutrition.

ADM opens oilseeds plant in Germany

Illinois-based agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has crushed its first non-GMO soybeans at its facility in Spyck, northwestern Germany. Located close to the Dutch border, the site was previously used to crush rape and sunflower seeds. The new switch capacity is part of the company’s long-term strategy to expand its network of European soy processing plants, enabling it to better service its soybean meal customers and support local farmers in increasing the region’s soybean acreage.

Vion to take over German slaughterplants

Take-overs: July saw a series of them in the global swine business. Meatpacker Vion Food Group will expand in the Bavarian market by taking over meat and sausage specialist Otto Nocker in Germaringen along with 6 meat markets. Previously, the company was part of the insolvent LUTZ Fleischwaren group of companies. The gourmet professionals from the Allgäu region, as Nocker identifies itself, perfectly fit the new Vion strategy for moving up in the value chain. In total, the new locations are in Germaringen, Ingolstadt, Traunstein, Günzburg, Kulmbach, Blaichach and Hammelburg. The acquisition still needs to be cleared with the competent creditor committees and the antitrust authorities.

Agrifirm buys feed company Bacutil

Netherlands-based animal nutrition company Agrifirm hopes to acquire compound feed company Bacutil in Poland. The agreements for the acquisition were signed on 30 June. The purchase allows Agrifirm nationwide access.

Bacutil is a company that mainly focuses on the poultry sector, both broiler chickens and laying hens, and has a production site in Bedlno Radzyńskie, in East Poland. The Bacutil production site currently has a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year. Bacutil has about 50 employees and a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes, which can be further expanded.

Upscience acquires Brazilian reference lab

Upscience, an international network of laboratories and previously known as InVivo Labs, acquired the top generation laboratory, Labtec, which has a modern plant in São Paulo state. This laboratory deals with the most advanced technologies, controls and certifications, and is a reference laboratory for many different segments and surveillance bodies in the national market. The acquisition allows the company to develop its activities in Brazil, expand its portfolio of analyses and position itself as one of the main laboratories in the country, effectively contributing to the verification of safety, compliance, quality control, effectiveness, research and development in many sectors.

Delegation visited New Hope LiuHe Group

Last but not least – two interesting updates from Asia. More than fifteen Dutch companies and organisations visited the headquarters of New Hope LiuHe Group in May 2017. The president of New Hope Liuhe Group and the vice-president of Shandong Province Animal Husbandry Association welcomed the delegation, which was organised by DMFC (NAFTC) in cooperation with NBSO Jinan. The Chinese delegates and the Dutch delegation conducted in-depth exchanges on specific farming issues, e.g. on antibiotic reduction, environmental control and biosecurity management. The New Hope LiuHe Group welcomes Dutch enterprises to share more experience and resources and hope to have a win-win cooperation in the future.

Lam An Trading distributor of ActiBeet in Vietnam

Lam An Trading has been appointed as distributor of ActiBeet in Vietnam, following the recent successful registration of the product in the country. ActiBeet is produced by Agrana, a sugar producer in Central and Eastern Europe. The product is extracted from sugar beet molasses and is a natural source of betaine used in animal nutrition.