Feed Hygiene

One of the most important points in obtaining reliable animal foods is the production of feeds in accordance with hygiene rules. In order to ensure food safety from farm to table, feed must be produced, stored, transported and used in all stages from the first production to the last product, in compliance with good production practices and hygiene rules.

According to the new regulations in Feed Hygiene Regulation, except the first production; The feed operator is obliged to implement the feed safety system in accordance with the HACCP principles. Within the scope of this system;

-In order to identify and control potential hazards for human and animal health, hazard analysis and CCP system should be applied throughout the production process.

- Necessary controls should be made to protect the feeds to be taken into operation from possible contamination.

- Contamination shall be measured on the production line using appropriate methods, provided that it is at least once a year or after any change / modification made in the facility.

- In accordance with the Food and Hygiene Regulation, it should be checked for possible microbiological contamination based on the hazard analysis and the microbiological criteria defined as part of the CCP.

- Producers should ensure that feed bans on ruminant animals or products that are prohibited to consume are used.

- Additives and mixes used for feed should be mixed evenly in accordance with legal criteria and instructions.

Factory Design, Maintenance, Personnel Hygiene

- In cases where natural drainage is not suitable, an external drainage system should be installed. Where external storage is required, feedstuffs, end products and equipment must be protected from contamination and deterioration.

- The sieves, gratings, filters and separators must be regularly checked for damage and effective operation. The mesh sizes of filters and sieves used for foreign body control must be large enough or adjusted to provide optimum protection.

- Appropriate measures should be taken against dust accumulation and other residues where the feedstuffs and feed produced are processed and stored. The company should establish a “Dust Prevention Plan içeren which includes procedures for hygiene and cleaning of facilities and equipment. Particular attention should be paid to feed additives and premixes which are highly prone to dust formation.

- Necessary precautions should be taken in order to prevent the transport of pathogens in the air used during transport and cooling to feed.

- It should be designed in such a way as to prevent contamination with air and possible pest entry in the final product at the goods acceptance and shipping points. Pest control procedures should be applied and records should be kept in case of possible contamination.

-There should be defined waste / return area within the enterprise. This should prevent accidental or careless re-use of the products.

-Staff should wear protective clothing in production and loading areas and should not smoke in the enterprise. Personnel should receive appropriate hygiene training on the supplied feed and the feed produced.

Buy

The feed and additives to be purchased must have standard specifications. According to these specifications, deviations in dimensions should be specified and the conditions under which the products can be accepted should be determined.

Feed Storage

-The traceability of each product to which goods are accepted must be ensured. Products that have been accepted must be stored in hygienic and suitable conditions. Separation of the products should be ensured by compartmentalization within the warehouse. Storage of products with damaged packaging and so on. Documentation system should be in place to monitor possible suspicious situations. According to the control plans, samples should be taken from the products and necessary analyzes should be done. It is necessary to have trained personnel at the delivery and reception points. The water used in production must be potable. If it is not of drinking water quality, it should be included in Hazard analysis and CCP.

Production of Mixed Feed and Premixes

- Taking technical and structural measures, preventing bacteriological pollution and contamination, minimizing errors caused by personnel and maintaining hygiene and reliability standards are important.

- Tolerance values ​​of feed ingredients and feed additives should be determined for dosing process.

- All equipment used must be calibrated.

- Feed additives and premixes to be added to the mixed feed must be added in accordance with legal requirements.

Mixing

It should be ensured that the mixers used in the mixing process accumulate residue at the end of the process. Because one of the most important points of the mixing process is the cleanliness of these machines. At the same time, the machine maintenance must be checked for less than 6 months in order to ensure effective mixing.

Cooling

Air, which is the most likely source of bacterial contamination, must be drawn from the clean areas, especially from feed areas, in the intake of coolers.

Shipping

The vehicles used during the transportation of feed materials and feed produced to the plant to different points should be clean. It should be ensured that there are no residues left from the previous transport process and that the containers used for transport are dry. Loading sections should be recorded for effective tracking of products.

Source: Good Manufacturing Practices and Feed Hygiene Guide for Feed Industry