Rethinking the feed industry

A statement by Heike Sander, Head of Marketing & Communication at Crespeo, manufacturer of functional, wheat-based feed ingredients

An emotional year has passed. During the corona pandemic, consumer and political demands on farmers and the feed industry have intensified. Higher standards of sustainability, product and delivery safety are now non-negotiable. Here, Heike Sander offers an insight into the trends and developments that she believes will shape 2021:

Sustainability

The crisis of 2020 has made sustainability an ongoing topic for public discussion. “Health has taken on a new priority, as consumers now recognise that more mindful use of the environment, as well as more sustainable animal husbandry, contribute to a safer and healthier way of life,” says Sander.

The EU Commission’s “One Health” concept is part of the European “Green Deal” and formulates measures for agriculture to achieve the European Union’s climate goal. This includes responsible soil management, the promotion of biodiversity and the reduced use of antimicrobials. “The feed industry plays a key role when it comes to sustainability,” says Sander. The ingredients that Crespeo produces are based on wheat, a natural raw material. Wheat proteins have a high nutritional value and are easily digestible, making wheat starch a bioavailable carbohydrate source that is also suitable for young animals. If the nutrient profile of the rations is precisely tailored to the animal species and other parameters, the animal is optimally fed and emissions into the environment are minimised. This is where ecological orientation and profitability meet,” says Sander. “We are very involved in R&D, using the latest scientific findings to develop ingredients that make feeding as natural and efficient as possible.“

As a brand of the Crespel & Deiters Group, Crespeo processes only EU wheat that is transported over comparatively short distances, at leat 75% coming from Germany.

Product and delivery safety

Regionality goes hand in hand with better control and assurance of the supply chain. The corona crisis has shown that sourcing raw material regionally can avoid supply bottlenecks. In addition, supply chains can be kept short and more easily traced. “Only a transparent supply chain guarantees the best quality,” according to Sander. All Crespeo products meet the highest certification standards, are free of chemicals and are not genetically modified. Thanks to long-standing contractual partnerships with farmers and reliable warehousing, the Crespel & Deiters Group secures a seamless supply. Stringent quality assurance measures throughout the supply chain ensure that all upstream processes are assessed by means of a HACCP system, and potential risks regarding chemical, physical and microbiological contamination are minimised or eliminated. Furthermore, the wheat-based ingredients optimise production processes and the feed properties. The starch components have a homogenising and stabilising effect so that liquid feeds do not sediment and retain the desired viscosity. By sterilising the pregelatinised wheat flours, microbiological activities are avoided and contamination with pathogens is minimised. Thus, the feed is preserved in a completely natural way.

Ingredients from the natural raw material wheat have the potential to offer solutions to current challenges thanks to innovative new approaches. “The past year highlighted a number of issues that will have an impact throughout 2021,” says Sander. “We support the EU’s ‘From Farm to Fork’ concept and see ourselves as an active partner of both industry and agriculture, with a commitment to continue to act in an environmentally conscious way.”