Effect of ground corn fractionation on flowability

Citation: Kalivoda, J. R., Jones, C. K., & Stark, C. R. (2016). Effect of ground corn fractionation on flowability. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 78-78. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-167Particle size reduction is an important component of feed manufacturing that impacts pellet quality and animal feed efficiency. However, reducing particle size too fine often results in reduced flowability of the ground corn and finished feed, which creates potential handling and storage concerns at the feed mill and farm. The objective of this experiment was to determine how fractionation affected flowability of ground corn. Whole corn was received from a single source and ground to achieve 3 target particle sizes, 400, 500, and 600 µm, with actual results of 469, 560, and 614 µm. Each target particle size was fractionated into 3 fractions: coarse ( > 630 µm), medium ( 282 µm), and fine ( < 282 µm) particles using a vibratory separator (model LS18SP3, SWECO, Florence, KY). Within each particle size, the percentage of ground corn as each fraction included: 400 µm: 57.5, 32.3, and 4.6% for coarse, medium, and fine, respectively; 500 µm: 64.4, 30.1, and 1.80% for coarse, medium, and fine, respectively; and 600 µm: 71.2, 23.2, and 0.90% for coarse, medium, and fine, respectively. When the target particle sizes were fractionated, their particle sizes were: 400 µm: 744, 269, and 94 µm for coarse, medium, and fine, respectively; 500 µm: 815, 253, and 96 µm for coarse, medium, and fine, respectively; and 600 µm: 898, 220, and 99 µm for coarse, medium, and fine, respectively. Fractionated samples were analyzed for multiple flowability characteristics, including: angle of repose, critical orifice diameter, composite flow index (CFI), density, and compressibility. Treatments were arranged in a nested model with 3 replicates per treatment. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. When particle size was analyzed as a main effect, density affected flowability (P = 0.014) with the 400 µm having the lowest density. However, when fraction was nested within particle size, it impacted (P < 0.001) all measures of flowability, with the fine fraction ( < 282 µm) of the 400 µm corn having the poorest flowability. In conclusion, reducing particle size resulted in the ground corn having poorer flowability characteristics, caused predominantly by particles that passed through 282 µm. Based on this data, producers may potentially grind corn to a lower particle size while maintaining flowability if fine particles ( < 282 µm) are removed

The evaluation of liquid disinfectants to reduce Salmonella contamination on animal food manufacturing surfaces

Citation: Muckey, M. B., Huss, A. R., & Jones, C. K. (2016). The evaluation of liquid disinfectants to reduce Salmonella contamination on animal food manufacturing surfaces. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 79-79. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-168Recent research had demonstrated that Salmonella and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus have been isolated from feed, ingredients, and feed manufacturing equipment surfaces. However, there is limited data regarding the sanitation of animal food manufacturing surfaces. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of liquid chemical treatments to reduce Salmonella contamination of metal surfaces. Metal coupons (103cm2, stainless steel 316; Built-so-Well, Manhattan, KS) were placed in sterile Petri dish, and inoculated with 1 mL of Salmonella Typhimurium Coupons were incubated overnight at 35°C, then subjected to treatments for 15 min: 1) no inoculation or sanitation treatment (positive control), 2) inoculated with no sanitation treatment (negative control), 3) inoculated and treated with a liquid alcohol-based commercial equipment sanitizer (DrySan Duo, Ecolab, St. Paul, MN), and 4) inoculated and treated with a liquid formaldehyde-based commercial product (SalCURB; Kemin Inc., Des Moines, IA). Immediately following treatment, excess material was removed by tapping. The coupon was then swabbed and the swab vortexed in neutralizing broth (EMD Chemicals, Darmstadt, Germany) before dilution. Samples were then serial diluted (10?1 to 10?6) and spread to Trypticase Soy Agar plates. Plates were incubated at 35°C for 24 h, and then enumerated. The quantity of Salmonella colony forming units (CFU) are depicted as CFU/cm2. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS as a completely randomized design with 3 replicates per treatment. As expected, treatment affected (P < 0.0001) residual Salmonella concentration, and there was no growth on the positive control treatment. The liquid formaldehyde-based commercial product was highly effective, resulting in no detectable growth (P < 0.05). Treating metal surfaces with the liquid alcohol-based commercial equipment sanitizer reduced (P < 0.05) Salmonella concentrations by 2 logs compared to the negative control. Liquid sanitizer treatment of metal surfaces led to a reduction in Salmonella, and can be effective steps in bacterial contamination in feed and animal food manufacturing. However, liquid sanitizers have drawbacks because they may be corrosive and most feed manufacturing equipment is not designed as clean-in-place to withstand liquid sanitation. More research is needed to evaluate dry sanitation methods that are able to break biofilms and sanitize animal food manufacturing surfaces

Coating dog kibble with a commercial liquid acidifier reduces the risk of Salmonella cross-contamination

Citation: Huss, A. R., Deliephan, A., Fuller, J. C., & Jones, C. K. (2016). Coating dog kibble with a commercial liquid acidifier reduces the risk of Salmonella cross-contamination. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 102-102. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-216In recent years, several pet food recalls have been attributed to Salmonella contamination. In addition to the negative impacts on animal health, pet foods contaminated with Salmonella have been linked to infection in humans. To help reduce the risks to humans, the Food and Drug Administration has set forth a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella in pet foods. Typically, the preconditioner and extruder operate at sufficient temperatures to destroy pathogenic bacteria. However, there is the potential for post-processing cross-contamination to adulterate the product. One potential method to reduce the risk of Salmonella cross-contamination in pet foods is through the addition of chemical additive coatings. The objective of this research was to evaluate the ability of the liquid acid, ?-hydroxy-?-methylbutyric acid (HMB; Metabolic Technologies Inc, Ames, IA), to reduce cross-contamination of dry extruded dog kibble with Salmonella. Liquid HMB was applied to a single formula of dog kibble at inclusion levels of 0, 0.9 and 1.5% (w:w) using a laboratory-scale mixer. The coated kibbles were then inoculated with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Enteritidis (ATCC 13076), grown in trypticase soy broth (TSB). Inoculated kibbles were enumerated for Salmonella on d 0, 1, 2, 7, and 14 post-inoculation. For enumerations, a subsample was collected, serial diluted and spread plated to Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate (XLD) agar. All inoculated plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 h, after which black colonies, typical for Salmonella, were counted and cfu/g calculated. The effects of HMB concentration, enumeration day and their interaction were all significant (P < 0.0001) on the resulting Salmonella concentration. Salmonella counts from Day 0 were 6.99, 5.59, and 4.88 log10 cfu/g for 0, 0.9 and 1.5% HMB, respectively. For HMB levels of 0.9 and 1.5%, counts were below the detectable limit for d 1, 2, 7, and 14. For 0% HMB, the Salmonella counts were found to decrease over time to 4.80, 3.99, 2.80, and 3.14 log10 cfu/g for d 1, 2, 7, and 14, respectively. Overall, the HMB coating was effective at reducing Salmonella artificially inoculated to dog kibbles. Further research is warranted to evaluate the minimum effective dose of HMB to reduce Salmonella in dog and cat kibbles

Evaluating Dietary Acidifiers as Alternatives to Conventional Feed-Based Antibiotics in Nursery Pig Diets

A total of 360 weanling pigs (200 × 400, DNA; initially 21.4 ± 0.23 lb BW) were used in a 21-d experiment with 6 pigs/pen, 10 replicate pens/treatment, and 2 separate nursery rooms, each with 30 pens. Pigs were weighed and allotted to pens based on BW in a completely randomized block design to one of six treatment diets: 1) negative control (no organic acids or antibiotics) and the control with 2) 0.25% acidifier A; 3) 0.3% acidifier B; 4) 0.5% acidifier C); 5) 50 g/ton carbadox; and 6) 400 g/ton chlortetracycline (CTC). Upon weaning, a common diet with no antibiotics or additives was fed for 21 d (Phases 1 and 2; days −21 to 0), followed by a 21-d experimental period (Phase 3; days 0 to 21) where treatment diets were fed. Pigs and feeders were individually weighed on a weekly basis to calculate ADG, ADFI, and F/G. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (v. 9.4, SAS Inst., Cary, NC) with pen as the experimental unit, treatment as a fixed effect, and room as a random effect. Dietary treatment had a significant impact (P \u3c 0.05) on ADG, ADFI, and G:F each week and for the overall experimental period (days 0 to 21). Specifically, from days 0 to 7, pigs fed CTC had increased (P = 0.001) ADG compared with those fed acidifier B, acidifier C, and carbadox, whereas pigs fed the negative control and acidifier A diets were intermediate. Additionally, pigs fed the CTC diet had improved (P = 0.0002) ADFI when compared with all other treatments. From days 7 to 14 and days 14 to 21, pigs fed the carbadox diet had decreased (P \u3c 0.0001) ADG compared with all other treatments. During the overall period (days 0 to 21), pigs fed diets containing carbadox had reduced ADG and ADFI (P \u3c 0.0001), whereas pigs fed CTC had improved (P \u3c 0.0001) ADG compared with all other treatments. Additionally, fecal consistency, and fecal microbial populations were analyzed on a subset of pigs (n = 5 pigs/treatment). Treatment also significantly impacted (P = 0.0005) fecal score but did not affect (P = 0.59) fecal microbial growth from days 0 to 21. In summary, CTC continues to be a valuable additive to improve performance in the nursery. Further investigation surrounding the efficacy of dietary acidifiers as antibiotic alternatives is warranted given inconclusive evidence in this study

An evaluation of total starch and starch gelatinization methodologies in pelleted animal feed

Citation: Zhu, L., Jones, C., Guo, Q., Lewis, L., Stark, C. R., & Alavi, S. (2016). An evaluation of total starch and starch gelatinization methodologies in pelleted animal feed. Journal of Animal Science, 94(4), 1501-1507. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9822The quantification of total starch content (TS) or degree of starch gelatinization (DG) in animal feed is always challenging because of the potential interference from other ingredients. In this study, the differences in TS or DG measurement in pelleted swine feed due to variations in analytical methodology were quantified. Pelleted swine feed was used to create 6 different diets manufactured with various processing conditions in a 2 x 3 factorial design (2 conditioning temperatures, 77 or 88 degrees C, and 3 conditioning retention times, 15, 30, or 60 s). Samples at each processing stage (cold mash, hot mash, hot pelletized feed, and final cooled pelletized feed) were collected for each of the 6 treatments and analyzed for TS and DG. Two different methodologies were evaluated for TS determination (the AOAC International method 996.11 vs. the modified glucoamylase method) and DG determination (the modified glucoamylase method vs. differential scanning calorimetry [DSC]). For TS determination, the AOAC International method 996.11 measured lower TS values in cold pellets compared with the modified glucoamylase method. The AOAC International method resulted in lower TS in cold mash than cooled pelletized feed, whereas the modified glucoamylase method showed no significant differences in TS content before or after pelleting. For DG, the modified glucoamylase method demonstrated increased DG with each processing step. Furthermore, increasing the conditioning temperature and time resulted in a greater DG when evaluated by the modified glucoamylase method. However, results demonstrated that DSC is not suitable as a quantitative tool for determining DG in multicomponent animal feeds due to interferences from nonstarch transformations, such as protein denaturation

Effect of a dry acidulant coating on the palatability of dry extruded dog food

Citation: Jeffrey, A. M., Aldrich, G. C., Huss, A. R., Knueven, C. J., & Jones, C. K. (2016). Effect of a dry acidulant coating on the palatability of dry extruded dog food. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 114-114. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-242In the pet food industry, Salmonella is getting greater scrutiny because it is considered a “reasonably foreseeable hazard” with the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Specifically, there is zero tolerance for any serotype of Salmonella in pet foods. Salmonella contamination was responsible for 78% of the Class I recalls in pet food according to the most recent Reportable Food Registry Report (FDA, 2015). One potential method of Salmonella mitigation shown to be effective was through coating the exterior of the kibble with a powdered dry acidulant, such as sodium bisulfate (SBS; Jones-Hamilton, Co.). Sodium bisulfate coating on both dog and cat kibbles was shown to provide complete mitigation of Salmonella within 14-d storage (Jeffrey et al., 2014). However, it is thought that the use of dry acidulant with a palatant for coating kibble may negatively impact palatability of a dry dog food. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine if the use of a dry acidulant, SBS, would influence the palatability of a dry dog food. A single dry extruded all life stages dog food was collected from a commercial pet food manufacturer before the coating step. The kibble was coated with either 2.2% spray dried chicken liver + 0.2% SBS or 2.2% spray dried chicken liver + 0.2% powdered silica (control). A total of 20 beagles were used in a standard 2-bowl forced choice palatability test method for 2 d. Dogs were fed 400 g of both diets once per day, with bowls rotated daily to address side bias. Results were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (Cary, NC). The inclusion of SBS did not affect daily preference of diet (P = 0.23). Furthermore, there was no effect of day (P = 0.18) or the interaction of treatment × day (P = 0.98). These results demonstrate that palatability is not affected by the inclusion of SBS with a palatant in the coating of dog food kibble. Considering that the inclusion of SBS has been shown to be effective at mitigating Salmonella in pet food and no negative effects on palatability were observed, the use of a dry acidulant in a dog food coating gives the industry a promising method to control Salmonella contamination of finished dog foods

The Effects of Medium Chain Fatty Acids in Mash and Crumbled Pellet Diets on Growth Performance of Broilers

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) in mash and crumbled pellet broiler diets. A total of 400 male chicks (Cobb 500; initial BW 0.092 lb) were housed in 4 Petersime batteries and used in an 18-d study. Treatments were randomly assigned to 80 cages within location block resulting in 8 cages per treatment with 5 chicks per cage at placement. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 5 factorial with main effects of feed type (mash and crumbled pellet) and 0.5% MCFA inclusion (no inclusion, control; hexanoic acid, C6; octanoic acid, C8; decanoic acid, C10; and dodecanoic acid, C12). Fat inclusions in the diets were equalized using 0.5% soybean oil in the control diet. Prior to crumbling, diets were conditioned at 185°F for approximately 20 s and pelleted (CPM, model CL-5, Crawfordsville, IN) with a 5/32 × 7/8 in. ring die. Dietary treatments were fed for the full duration of the study. There was no evidence of feed form × MCFA interactions. From d 0 to 18, chicks fed pelleted diets had improved (P \u3c 0.001) body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and final BW compared to those fed mash diets. For the overall treatment period, there was no evidence of a MCFA effect (P \u3e 0.10) on broiler performance. Pelleting and crumbling feed improved growth performance regardless of MCFA inclusion. The MCFA inclusion did not positively influence growth performance of broilers

Impact of varying analytical methodologies on grain particle size determination

Citation: Kalivoda, J. R., Jones, C. K., & Stark, C. R. (2017). Impact of varying analytical methodologies on grain particle size determination. Journal of Animal Science, 95(1), 113-119. doi:10.2527/jas2016.0966The determination of particle size is an important quality control measurement for feed manufacturers, nutritionists, and producers. The current approved method for determining the geometric mean diameter by weight (d(gw)) and geometric standard deviation (S-gw) of grains is standard ANSI/ASAE S319.4. This method controls many variables, including the suggested quantity of initial material and the type, number, and size of sieves. However, the method allows for variations in sieving time, sieve agitators, and the use of a dispersion agent. The objective of this experiment was to determine which method of particle size analysis best estimated the particle size of various cereal grain types. Eighteen samples of either corn, sorghum, or wheat were ground and analyzed using different variations of the approved method. Treatments were arranged in a 5 x 3 factorial arrangement with 5 sieving methods: 1) 10-min sieving time with sieve agitators and no dispersion agent, 2) 10-min sieving time with sieve agitators and dispersion agent, 3) 15-min sieving time with no sieve agitators or dispersion agent, 4) 15-min sieving time with sieve agitators and no dispersion agent, and 5) 15-min sieving time with sieve agitators and dispersion agent conducted in 3 grain types (ground corn, sorghum, and wheat) with 4 replicates per treatment. The analytical method that resulted in the lowest dgw and greatest Sgw was considered desirable because it was presumably representative of increased movement of particles to their appropriate sieve. Analytical method affected dgw and Sgw (P 0.05), but wheat ground using the same mill parameters was 120 to 104 m larger (P = 0.05) than corn and sorghum, respectively. Both sieve agitators and dispersion agent should be included when conducting particle size analysis. The results indicate that 10 and 15 min of sieving time produced similar results

Investigating Potential Additive Effects of Formic Acid and Glycerol Monolaurate in Nursery Pig Diets

A total of 350 weanling pigs (200 × 400, DNA; initially, 12.5 ± 0.3 lb BW) were used in a 42-d study with 5 pigs per pen and 14 replicate pens per treatment. At weaning, pigs were allotted to pens in a completely randomized design and pens of pigs were randomly assigned to one of five dietary treatments: 1) negative control (standard nursery diet with no additives); 2) control diet with 3,000 ppm ZnO included in phase 1 and 2,000 ppm ZnO included in phase 2; 3) control diet with 0.7% formic acid (Amasil NA, BASF, Florham, NJ); 4) control diet with 0.18% glycerol monolaurate (Natural Biologics GML, Natural Biologics, Newfield, NY); and 5) control diet with a 1.0% blend of formic acid, sodium diformate, and glycerol monolaurate (FORMI 3G, ADDCON GmbH, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany). Pigs were fed treatment diets from d 0 to d 28 and were then fed a common diet from d 28 to d 42. This allowed diets to be fed as part of a standard 3-phase nursery program. From d 0 to d 7, pigs fed a diet containing ZnO or the 1.0% blend of formic acid, sodium diformate, and glycerol monolaurate had significantly increased (P = 0.03) ADG compared to pigs fed the control. Feed intake did not differ (P \u3e 0.05) during this period. Overall, pigs fed GML had reduced ADG compared to their counterparts fed the negative control, ZnO, or FORMI diets. Feed intake was also not impacted (P = 0.233) by dietary treatments. Fecal DM was evaluated from d 7 to d 28 and there was a significant treatment × day interaction (P = 0.035). Pigs fed GML had significantly lower fecal DM % on d 7, but a higher fecal DM % on d 14 and 21. There was no evidence of difference between treatments for fecal DM by d 28. In summary, there is potential for a blend of formic acid and GML to improve growth performance immediately post-weaning without negatively impacting fecal consistency. Further research is warranted to determine the mode of action of these acids and elucidate their efficacy as alternative feed ingredients to combat post-weaning challenges in swine production