Scanning the 2020 horizon
2019 has been ‘an interesting year’ says Paul Featherstone, Director at SugaRich. In this column, he discusses the changes he hopes to see in 2020.
I feel 2019 has been quite an interesting year in the feed industry, certainly from our perspective in the supply chain. We’ve had the concerns over the potato crop integrity with the use
of plant growth regulator, maleic hydrazide. An issue, I’m happy to say has taken a turn for the better with a review of EU regulations. We’ve engaged in the debate over insect protein as a source of
feed for non-ruminants. If we can demonstrate that there’s no scientific risk to their use and encouraging greater circular economy integration, then why not include it into feed? This topic will continue to encourage debate and discussion for sure, in the future. There’s Brexit which affects everyone in some way, but the less said about that, the better. For my part, this is what I hope will change for 2020, to improve the
feed industry and all the parties that make it a thriving and necessary part of British agriculture.
Remember what African swine fever teaches us It was reported in October 2019 that meat contaminated with African swine fever was detected in the UK1
to ensure that our feed safety practices are at world class levels. Let’s continue to set an example here at home in the UK. Illegality, fraud or ignorance mean we must continue to raise the
bar even higher, otherwise we’ll destroy the industry. We don’t want a few rotten apples to spoil the barrel.
I’d like us to continue to do more of the following as an industry: • give our people the best training, to the highest standard, an example already set in other countries; motivate them too; • fight harder to get government funding, investment, and buy-in to achieve consistently improving standards; • invest and develop the best technology for feed safety and efficiencies;
• prioritise regulation compliance; • influence regulation, have a voice, speak up for our industry. , granted it was illegal meat, but
nonetheless, a serious concern that it was able to slip through the net. While African swine fever rages across Asia and touches the
shores of Australia, it reminds me that overall, we must keep our feed chain safe. There is no mistaking that that any animal feed, derived from surplus
foodstuffs, is a valuable resource and not waste. This is thanks to the amendment of Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, to an updated legal proposal on waste, found in 2018/8512
. This resource should
never be confused with swill, which is food and catering waste that is prohibited from being used as animal feed. Swill has proven itself to be a destructive contaminant when added to the feed chain in the past – a course of action never to be repeated. I sincerely hope that we will strive to maintain clarity on differentiating
what is reusable and what isn’t. I will ardently defend the stringent controls in place to ensure the safety and integrity of feed sources, maintaining the high quality of produce for which the UK is renowned. I would like to see more training that inspires staff to work to the
highest standards in the feed industry. We must explain why their due diligence counts and the potentially disastrous consequences of not observing it such as African swine fever.
Climbing the integrity mountain The issue that probably means the most on my wish list, is to maintain and continue to protect feed safety. We have to be mindful of the developing challenges and not drop our guard on safety and standards, continuing to elevate them. We must collaborate with legislators and competent authorities
We fight a smarter war against plastic I don’t want to start plastic bashing. Plastic is an incredibly useful material in the food-feed industry. It keeps food fresh and enables wider and safer distribution of perishable foodstuffs that we wouldn’t otherwise enjoy with such accessibility. However, there is a more troublesome side to plastics which we need to seriously address ensuring the correct methods of recycling and disposal. I hope that manufacturers start thinking more about how they
package their food. Make it more safely disposable and less cumbersome to enable efficient waste streaming whether it is redirected into a feed production process or to waste operators for biogas production. Technology that better facilitates separation of packaging from the
useful foodstuffs must be implemented across all sectors. I believe 2020 will see some challenging initiatives to further ensure confidence in the quality of former foodstuffs for feed.
The balanced dialogue Finally, I hope that we can discuss key issues about food and feed with respect for each other’s perspectives and arguments. UK agriculture and farming provides a vital and substantial part of the economy to cater for our ever-growing population. Whether we are omnivores, vegetarians or vegans, we are all fortunate to have the choice to nourish ourselves and our animals in diverse and healthy ways. I hope that we continue to meet the food needs of the entire (expanding) population but with more tolerance about how it’s done.
1.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/health-welfare/livestock-diseases/ meat-infected-with-african-swine-fever-found-in-uk 2.
https://legislationupdateservice.co.uk/directive-eu-2018-851- amending-directive-2008-98-ec-on-waste/
FEED COMPOUNDER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 PAGE 35
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