March 24, 2016

 

Alltech: What if you could get more from less?

 

 

For more than 20 years, Alltech has been a world leader in supplying organic minerals to the industry and continues to lead the way in terms of published research in the area of mineral nutrition. Then about 10 years ago, the company demonstrated that all inorganic trace minerals could be removed from the animal's diet and completely replaced with organic ones.

 

by Ngai Meng CHAN

                                               

A 2015 report by Research and Markets forecast the global trace minerals market for animal feed to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.88% over the period of 2014 to 2019. The report also indicated that organic trace minerals have higher bioavailability compared to their inorganic counterparts and do not interact with antagonists and vitamins.

 

However, there are still many segments of the market that continue to use traditional supplementation of inorganic mineral sources, explains Tara Jarman, Asia Pacific Mineral Manager at Alltech.

 

"Total replacement"

 

"Cost may be a key factor here, with cheap inorganic sources being readily available and, as a result, over-supply of those minerals in the diet is common. However, producers are starting to realise that these inorganic sources cannot compare to the performance benefits of organic minerals," Jarman points out.

 

In fact, Alltech's research into total replacement started more than 10 years ago, when the company demonstrated that all inorganic trace minerals could be removed from the animal's diet and completely replaced with organic ones in the form of Sel-Plex^® and Bioplex^®. This allows farmers to reduce the total amount of minerals added to the diet, which also leads to environmental benefits from reduced mineral excretion.

 

"We call this innovation Total Replacement Technology™ (TRT) and we are currently the only company to have proven this modern management of mineral nutrition. We are confident in our recommendations for the total replacement of inorganic mineral sources in animal diets, which very much differentiates us from the large number of companies in this market segment," highlights Jarman.

 

To achieve "total replacement," Bioplex and Sel-Plex minerals are presented to the animal in a way that is comparable with their natural organic state in plants and yeast, respectively.

 

To ensure maximum bioavailability, Bioplex minerals have been developed using chelation technology and can be used throughout the life cycles of all livestock.

 

Sel-Plex is a selenium-enriched yeast that is readily taken up into the body with some of the selenium used immediately for selenium proteins and the rest, most importantly, stored in body tissues. Research has clearly shown that 100% of selenium supplementation can be provided with an organic source and results in significant improvements in measured status parameters, such as blood, tissue, milk, egg and hair. Alltech therefore recommends that 100% of selenium supplementation for all major farm species be provided in the form of Sel-Plex.

 

The company's commitment to local production is also a major differentiation point, with seven Bioplex manufacturing facilities globally, making Alltech the world's largest producer of organic minerals. In 2015, the company opened its seventh global Bioplex manufacturing facility in Thailand. It now has three facilities operating in the Asia Pacific region, its largest market, as well as facilities in Europe, North America and Latin America.

 

Apart from expansions in production capacities, quality has always been a key focus for Alltech. In regard to its Mineral Management programme, Alltech Q+TM, which is specific to Bioplex minerals, is an industry-leading programme, according to Jarman.

 

The focus on quality is timely, as food safety is a growing concern for the agriculture industry due to a number of high-profile contamination cases in recent years. In particular, mineral sources pose a high risk for contamination with compounds such as heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs. Alltech meets its responsibility for the supply of safe, traceable minerals to the industry with the Alltech Q+ programme.

 

The positive release programme ensures that all consignments of trace minerals and final Bioplex batches are rigorously tested for heavy metals, PCBs and dioxins prior to release for sale. This guarantees that Alltech's Bioplex trace minerals provide the highest level of quality, safety and traceability of any feed trace mineral source on the market today.

 

Even in countries like China, where there is a particularly high risk from contaminated raw material supplies such as trace minerals, Alltech protects itself from such risk via its industry-leading quality programmes Alltech^® Quality System and Alltech Q+, says Jarman.

 

"As a global company, we ensure all of our production facilities operate on the same high standards," she explains. "This high level of quality ensures our customers are protected from risks of contamination, which differentiates us further from cheap, local competitor products."

 

Exemplifying its stewardship in quality in the manufacture of trace minerals, Alltech conducts its annual Heavy Metal Survey of complete feed, premix, inorganic mineral and organic mineral samples from across the Asia-Pacific region, testing for the presence of heavy metals to highlight the risk of heavy metal contamination to the feed industry. Last year was the fifth year Alltech has conducted the survey throughout the Asia Pacific region, with almost 500 samples submitted and analysed for arsenic, cadmium and lead. The results were once again quite alarming.

 

Of the 498 samples tested, 38% were contaminated with at least one heavy metal above acceptable European Union levels. A closer look into the results showed that 14% of inorganic minerals, 7% of organic minerals, 15% of premixes and a staggering 68% of the complete feeds analysed were contaminated. This level of contamination has been shown to not only have an impact on animal performance but also on consumer safety.

 

"We are now working on our sixth annual Alltech Heavy Metal Survey and have analysed more than 2,000 samples. These samples are provided to us from both producers and feed millers so that we can provide an overall view of contamination not only in a particular operation, but also in local areas or regions. We will continue highlighting the risk of contamination of trace mineral sources manufactured without an adequate quality assurance system," stresses Jarman.

 

She sums up by saying that the company aims to work with its clients to implement a holistic approach, focussing not on least-cost strategies, but rather on maximising performance and returns.

 

"I say 'holistic,' as Alltech has solutions that range from maximising performance with Sel-Plex and Bioplex minerals to programmes addressing mycotoxin or protein management. This privileged position allows us to focus on ensuring maximum feed and animal performance while ensuring good return on investment for feed mills and their clients," highlights Jarman.

 

What lies ahead

 

"We sell our organic minerals in more than 100 countries, so our coverage is very global in scope, but the biggest region for us is Asia with over $50 million in sales. We feel that major growth will also come from Asia as the demand for protein increases and overall efficiency of production is needed to compete," predicts Jarman.

 

The United States is the single largest country as far as sales is concerned. Alltech has been selling in this market for over 25 years and was responsible for bringing organic selenium (Sel-Plex) to the marketplace. It is a similar situation in Western Europe, where the company has been established for many years. 

 

As far as Southeast Asia and South America are concerned, the need for increased efficiency and the concern for potential contamination from inorganic trace mineral sources have helped to drive Alltech's sales over the last 10 years, according to Jarman.

 

"These regions will continue to be our growth market going forward as they strive to compete on the global market," she points out.

 

For China in particular, Alltech began operating in the country over 20 years ago and began manufacturing organic minerals a number of years ago, and today it remains a key market for the company.

 

"We see Alltech China contributing $500 million in business for Alltech by 2020. The opportunities are enormous in the country, which is still facing its own challenges in the areas of food safety, sustainability and biosecurity," says Jarman.

 

Though there has been limited new research carried out in the area of trace mineral nutrition recommendations, Alltech has remained steadfast in the investigation of the nutritional benefits and appropriate levels of trace minerals for animals and their effects on the consumer and environment, explains Jarman. To that end, the company has partnered with industry experts, including leading universities and research centres, in the investigation of trace mineral technology.

 

"Looking ahead, we will further show the potential benefits from the TRT approach through research and commercial examples. Another area that Alltech is leading the field in is nutrigenomics. We will further investigate what impact optimum mineral nutrition has at a gene level in agriculture species, focussing on areas such as meat quality and growth performance," concludes Jarman.