As demand for safer feed spirals, Kemira finds itself in the midst of opportunities not only for business expansion but also for educating consumers on organic acids-based products, making the path away from AGPs more achievable.

 

Armed with its strength in feed preservation and acidification, Kemira has a long history in the global animal feed industry. One of the largest calcium propionate producers in the world, the company positions itself to uphold feed quality and safety through its product portfolio against mould, yeast and bacteria, while enhancing nutrient digestibility in animals.

 

In the following interview, Han van der Broek, Manager Sales & Marketing Food & Feed (Asia Pacific) of Kemira, shares his viewpoint on a market that is more receptive to organic acids-based solutions and the company's positioning in it.

 

 

 

The demand for organic acids-based products continues to increase due to increasing consumer awareness about the adverse effects of antibiotic growth promoters and formaldehyde used in animal feed. In the past few years demand has only gone in one direction and that is up, despite the economic crisis and quality crisis (melamine contaminations etc. in Chinese supplies). In fact, these two crises have in my opinion only strengthened the position for a basic producer such as Kemira. Nowadays, feed producers are even more concerned about their cost (hence prefer to buy from the source) and quality (traceability). Kemira's decision to focus more on Asia Pacific could not have come at a better time. In Thailand for instance, there is increasing demand for feed ingredients used for chicken exported to the Europe to be in line with the EU legislation. South Korea banned the use of seven types of antibiotics in animal feed in 2009. Bangladesh has this year banned antibiotics use in aqua and poultry feed.

 

 

Has there been a major shift among consumers to favour more organic acids-based products?

 

Absolutely. Changing consumer demands in Asia Pacific are also affecting the way meat, milk and eggs are produced in this part of the world, not only because of the need to adhere to EU export regulations. Increasingly, consumers demand safe solutions and the industry will need to follow suit. Organic acids-based products are safe solutions as they are fully metabolisable, safe to use and leave no residues in meat, milk and eggs.

 

 

 

Our Kemira Mould Control and Kemira Bacteria Control range of products are ideally suited to address the needs of the feed industry in this regard. Kemira has developed dry and liquid products to suit the industry's need to safeguard against moulds and gram-negative micro-organisms like E. Coli, Salmonella, etc. in raw materials and finished feeds. Our newest product Kemira Pro GIT SF3 can also deal with gram-positive bacteria like Clostridium (causing Necrotic Enteritis). It is based on the Eubiosis concept of short chain and medium chain fatty acids. Kemira is even taking food safety solutions one step further down the feed-to-meat supply chain by offering our meat processing customers Kemira Provian, a line of existing and newly developed meat preservatives based on organic acids and salts. Kemira's latest product is specifically developed for the meat processing industry to tackle the challenges caused by Listeria in a convenient and cost-effective way.

 

 

 

Economies of scale determine what we can do for our customers individually. Our standard product portfolio addresses the needs of most of our customers and their applications in most countries. However, due to individual country regulations in the Asia Pacific region (contrary to the EU with common legislation), Kemira has to be flexible in addressing those needs.

 

 

 

The biggest challenge we still face is that people still buy their acid-based ingredients without a full and complete understanding of what they are buying. Products containing organic acids and salts are offered by many suppliers and come in different shapes and sizes. Too many a time, customers decide to buy them because the products are cheap or a low dose rate is recommended. Frankly speaking, what often happens then is akin to the saying - "buy peanuts and you get monkeys." Too often, customers do not challenge their suppliers on the composition of the products they offer like the way they would do if they buy fishmeal (e.g. enquire about the composition of crude protein) and corn (e.g. checking its moisture content).

 

Organic acids-based products vary in the type of acids present, their functionality and their acid concentrations. Products containing formic, propionic and lactic acid have been around for many years, but newer products that contain butyrate, benzoate, medium chain fatty acids, etc. have also appeared. Some do make a difference and others do not, depending on the type and level of acids that is being used and the purpose for which they are used. Products for mould or bacteria control require other functionalities than those working in the animal's gut. Minimum levels of acids per tonne of feed are required to have an effect at all (due to feed buffer capacity) and dose responses are oftentimes observed.

 

 

 

Kemira will continue to serve the industry's needs for organic acids-based products to enhance feed and food safety, animal health and performance. Due to increased consumer concerns as well as changing legislation, the demand for such products will only continue to rise. We have already observed this in the European Union, where organic acids have become the predominant alternative to antibiotics. They are also used as alternative to formaldehyde, which is not allowed except for a few applications. Kemira believes that the more we focus on organic acids-based products, the better we can serve our customer needs. As a basic producer of organic acids and salts, the company's strength is in the backwards integration of our supply chain and we look to optimise that for the customer's benefit.