Feed manufacturing
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines HACCP as "a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product".
[4] The FDA regulates human food and animal feed for poultry, livestock, swine, and fish.
Additionally, the FDA regulates pet food, which they estimate feeds over 177 million dogs, cats, and horses in America.
Similar to human foods, animal feeds must be unadulterated and wholesome, prepared under good sanitary conditions, and truthfully be labeled to provide the required information to the consumer.
Formulating a swine ration considers the required nutrients at various growth stages in creating an appropriate feed.
Three basic methods are used to formulate swine diets: Pearson square, algebraic equations and linear programs (computers).
In recent times, microcomputer programs are available that will balance a diet for many nutrients and assist with economic decisions.
[6][7][8] Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), which are rich in energy and protein, have been used in place of corn and soybean meal in some livestock and poultry feeds and corn DDGS have become the most popular, economical, and widely available alternative feed ingredient for use in U.S. swine diets in all phases of production.
Soybean meal prepared for the fish industry is heavily dependent on the particle sizes contained in the feed pellets.
Fats, usually from tallow, lard or vegetable oil are essentially required to provide important fatty acid in poultry feed for membrane integrity and hormone synthesis.
Proteins are important to supply the essential amino acids for the development of body tissues like muscles, nerves, cartilage, etc.
Meals from soybean, canola, and corn gluten are the major source of plant protein in poultry diets.
Supplementation of minerals are often required because grains, which are the main component of commercial feed contain very little amounts of these.
However, some researchers have recently brought to our attention the necessity of coarse particles for poultry feed to complement the natural design and function of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT).
[16] Chewning et al. (2012), in their recent study, concluded that although fine particle sizes (0.27 mm) enhanced broilers live performance, the pelleted feed did not.
However, basic nutrient requirements of a livestock's feed must consist of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
Feeds with high NDF are good for rumen health, however, they provide less energy and vice versa.
Minerals including calcium, phosphorus and selenium are required by livestock for maintaining growth, reproduction and bone health.
Grinding of selected raw material is to produce particle sizes to be optimally and easily accepted by the animals.
Depending on the formulation, feed could contain up to 10 different components including carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, minerals and additives.
[24] Corn, sorghum, wheat and barley are the most used cereals in the preparation of feed for the livestock, poultry, swine, and fish industry.
Roller and hammer mills are the two types of processing equipment generally used to grind grains into smaller particle sizes.
[25][26] Milling cereal grains by mechanical action involves several forces like compression, shearing, crushing, cutting, friction and collision.
