Animal Feed
Shepherd Widnes manufactures specially designed cobalt salts, which are used in animal feed premixes, acting as precursor to vitamin B-12 for ruminants and other animals. These products do not contain higher amount of contaminants normally found in standard grade products.
Cobalt affects reproduction and growth in these animals. Lack of cobalt can lead to inadequacy of vitamin B12 synthesis, a depressed appetite, and poor growth in young ruminants.
Shepherd has recently been granted FEMAS certification under the Feed Material Assurance Scheme, developed by the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) for animal feed ingredients.
The FEMAS scheme was developed by the AIC in response to demands throughout Europe for more stringent food and feed safety regulations. It is one of several national EU standards designed to assure safety, suitability for use and full traceability for all feed ingredients used in the production of animal feed in the EU, regardless of their country of origin.
FEMAS and the UK
All UFAS-assured feed mills in the UK must only use ingredients which have been assured under FEMAS, or another program which has been granted FEMAS equivalence.
FEMAS and the EU
- GMP of Belgium
- GMP+ of Holland
- Q&S of Germany
FEMAS and non-EU countries
Although the above standards currently only apply within the EU, buyers at European supermarkets are increasingly aware of food safety issues and may, in the future, wish to ensure that products coming from outside the EU are also covered. Various European standard owners, (the AIC, OVOCOM of Belgium, PDV of the Netherlands and Q&S of Germany), together with FEFAC have initiated a joint project, the International Feed Safety Alliance (IFSA), to combine the experience of existing feed ingredients assurance programs into one program that can operate across the world with one set of standards.
For further information about the FEMAS scheme, or Shepherd Widnes’ quality programs, please contact Shepherd directly, or visit the FEMAS AIC website.
Products