Some common feed contaminants (this list is not exhaustive): Morphine and its derivatives Caffeine


• • • • • • • • • •


Theobromine Theophylline


Hysocine (also known as Scopolamine) Atropine


Hordenine Ergonovine


Harpagosides Synephrine


Feed assurance “In the UK, the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) operates a well-known assurance scheme, the BETA NOPS®


scheme. This was


launched in 2009 to help feed manufacturers reduce the risk of naturally occurring prohibited substances out of their feeds,” she says. The scheme is based on HACCP principles but where the risk is


not feed safety, but prohibited substance contamination, the scheme requires participating companies to risk assess several aspects. These areas include the ingredients used, their supply chains and


manufacturing procedures, in order to demonstrate they have applied due diligence in reducing the risk of prohibited substances entering feeds the market. Crucially, as with UFAS and FEMAS, standards are assessed by an external auditing process. “Certified members of the scheme can display the BETA NOPS®


contamination from shared harvesting machinery, drying facilities, grinding equipment, or packing houses. One example of this is when opium poppies were grown commercially for morphine production and shared facilities were identified as the contamination point into feed ingredients. Similarly, storing or processing feed ingredients in a facility shared with tea products could lead to a cross contamination of caffeine or theophylline.


3) During storage or transport. For instance, if a lorry delivering grain to an equine feed mill had previously held biscuit meal, then theobromine contamination could occur.


4) At the mill itself. For example, a feed including a NOPS-containing ingredient is followed by a product required to be non-NOPS without cleaning down the equipment or where leftover material is caught in the packer, it may contaminate the following batch.


5) Lastly, contamination at the yard. For instance, where medications or feeds for competing horses and non-competing horses is poorly separated, or indeed from drugs/medication used by the groom handling the feeds, are also routes to prohibited substances entering a horse’s system. Clare explains that experience shows that the most prevalent


source of in-feed contamination is contaminated ingredients, therefore knowledge of the whole supply chain is crucial to understanding and controlling the risk. The graph below shows the number of in-feed contamination cases per feed type in the period 2016-2019


“Premier Nutrition has been a member of the BETA NOPS® scheme


since 2012,” says Clare. “Our equine premixes and complementary feeds are manufactured in medicine-free facilities with strict supply chain vigilance and quality control procedures in place regarding prohibited substances. “We know that it is crucial for feed manufacturers, supplying


race and competition horses to keep their feeds clear of prohibited substances. But there are many factors to consider and numerous places for contamination to occur. “This is why Premier Nutrition has been dedicated to understanding


supply chains and best practice in our industry. In addition to supplying BETA NOPS®


certified premixes and complementary feeds, we can act


as a sounding board for customers who may need support to ensure prohibited substance protocols are robust,” concludes Clare.


For more information please visit: www.premiernutrition.co.uk


FEED COMPOUNDER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 PAGE 29


logo on their packaging and marketing materials to signal to customers they are members of the scheme, which helps riders and racehorse trainers make informed decisions on what products to buy if competing,” explains Clare. An updated version of the BETA NOPS®


scheme is due out this


autumn and further details can be found on the BETA NOPS website www.beta-uk.org


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