Feed safety in the feed supply chain

A number of issues have weakened the public's confidence in the quality and wholesomeness of foods of animal origin. As a result farmers, nutritionists, industry and governments have been forced to pay serious attention to animal feedstuff production processes, thereby acknowledging that animal feed safety is an essential prerequisite for human food safety. Concerns about these issues have produced a number of important effects including the ban on the use of processed animal proteins, the ban on the addition of most antimicrobials to farm animals diets for growth‐promotion purposes, and the implementation of feed contaminant regulations in the EU. In this context it is essential to integrate knowledge on feed safety and feed supply. Consequently, purchase of new and more economic sources of energy and protein in animal diets, which is expected to conform to adequate quality, traceability, environmental sustainability and safety standards, is an emerging issue in livestock production system

Olfactometric techniques in feed analysis: preliminary calibration of DON in durum wheat

Approcci olfattometrici nell\u2019analisi dei mangimi: calibrazione preliminare per il rilievo di DON nel grano duro. Le analisi olfattometriche, attraverso l\u2019uso del naso elettronico, trovano sempre pi\uf9 spazio nella valutazione della qualit\ue0 e sicurezza in campo alimentare. I principali vantaggi di tale approccio risiedono nella sua flessibilit\ue0 di impiego. Una volta messi a punto adeguati protocolli d\u2019analisi e modelli statistici di tipo multivariato, infatti, il naso elettronico si pu\uf2 rivelare uno strumento adatto alle realt\ue0 di campo in quanto caratterizzato da rapidit\ue0 e basso costo d\u2019esercizio. Lo scopo di questo lavoro \ue8 stato quello di verificare, a livello preliminare, l\u2019efficienza del naso elettronico nel riconoscere la presenza di micotossina deossinivalenolo (DON) in 10 campioni di grano duro (Triticum durum) di diversa provenienza geografica. I risultati hanno dimostrato che il protocollo applicato consente di riconoscere la presenza di DON nonch\ue9 di discriminare i diversi campioni in funzione del loro livello di contaminazione

the effect of plant polyphenols on the antioxidant defence system of weaned piglets subjected to an escherichia coli challenge

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the effect of different selenium sources during the finishing phase on beef quality

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New techniques to improve oral feeding in preterm infants

In the last decades, improvement of perinatal care increased the survival of preterm infants. After acute phase stabilization, the independent oral feeding is the last task prior to discharge at home, but, as the American Academy of Paediatrics recognizes, is essential for hospital discharge. Coordination of breathing–sucking–swallowing movements, usually present until 32 to 34 gestational weeks, is essential to attend full oral feeding in preterm infants. A delay in independent oral feeding, both breast and bottle-feeding, can lead to longer hospital stay, family stress, health costs and long-term language and feeding problems. In the last years, various oral and sensorimotor stimulations have been proved being effective to improve nutritive sucking in preterm infants and to reduce the time to attain a full oral feeding