Feed Quality Quality control in feed manufacturing

FEED manufacturers are often forced by circumstances to focus on short-term concerns such as: How many tons were produced this week? How many customers do I have, or how much down time did I have this week? While important, short-term problems can cause manufacturers to focus on solving problems rather than pursuing the company’s mission. Manufacturers who regularly examine their company’s mission tend to have a sense of who they are and where they are going. How many feed manufacturers know and regularly examine the organization’s mission? The immediate response of some manufacturers might be: “Our mission is to make a profi t.” Although making a profi t is certainly necessary for company survival, profi t as a sole objective is short sighted. What are we trying to accomplish when feeds are formulated and manufactured? Although there can be numerous mission statements, an overall mission of feed formulation and manufacturing might be: “To provide customers with effi ciently manufactured, safe, high-quality feeds that are correctly delivered to their facilities and consistently contain the available nutrients required by animals for body maintenance, growth and reproduction.” A comprehensive feed quality assurance (QA) program should manage the materials (ingredients and supplies), equipment, personnel and procedures to effi ciently deliver a safe feeds that consistently contain the formulated nutrients to optimize the production of meat, milk and eggs. QA is a comprehensive program of controls directed at ensuring the production of feeds that meet a predefi ned set of standards (Rydell, 2005; Boyd, 1993). QA refers to the policies, procedures and process controls that yield a consistent product, where as quality controls are the in-plant process measurements that insure quality parameters are met during receiving, manufacturing and delivery.