The role of animal feed in public health
In recent years, the animal feed sector has sought to gain attention from the food sector in order to show its role in food health to everyone as much as possible.
In the animal feed sector, the final consumer is livestock, whose products will be the raw materials of the food sector. Therefore, the health and quality of animal feed will have a direct effect on the food that is obtained from animals.
Considering the forecast of population growth of 9 billion until 2050 and the subsequent increase in demand for animal protein, it is necessary that the animal feed industry along with the wider agricultural sector can sustainably meet this amount of demand.
In terms of supervision, during the recent years, the supervisors monitored health factors more than in the past.
In 2003, the animal feed hygiene law was approved in Europe. One of the positive points of this approval was that Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) became a mandatory regulatory requirement for the animal feed sector.
Following the implementation of animal feed hygiene supervision, gradually other countries such as Canada, Australia, and the United States have further developed animal feed hygiene supervision.
Little by little, the risks related to animal feed health were reduced and a comprehensive approach was formed in relation to the control and management of these risks. Considering that the animal feed sector is considered a part of the global supply chain, any effort to manage the health of animal feed is considered necessary and obligatory.
The recent scandals in the world's animal feed and food sector highlight the need to strengthen preventive measures against fraud in the supply chain of these materials. Not only is it necessary to protect consumer health; Rather, manufacturers know very well that "trust" is one of the elements that creates a profitable and efficient business.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines the right food chain as: "the supply of healthy, hygienic, and nutritious food through the entire food supply chain - from production, processing, sale, to final consumption."