With the food and farming sector facing many challenges in terms of its environmental impact the Food Fortress program for managing the contaminant risk from feed materials is making a significant contribution to the sustainability of livestock farming.

The program which was set up over ten years ago as a partnership between local feed businesses and the Institute of Global Food Security at Queens University Belfast was originally established to protect consumers from chemical contaminants entering the food chain.

According to Executive Director, Robin Irvine, the network which comprises over 80 feed manufacturers and importers throughout Ireland is now playing a major part in the management of anti-nutrients which can impact on feed efficiency and animal performance.

“Precision nutrition and feed efficiency are key to reducing emissions to air and water and anything which impacts on the feed conversion ratio not only adds to production costs but creates more methane, phosphorus and other chemicals harmful to the environment.”

“Members of Food Fortress take part in a rigorous program of testing for the main contaminants - they share in an extensive database of results and are regularly updated with expert analysis and guidance on how to mitigate the current risks from feed materials”.

The support of Queens University has been a key element of the program says Robin - “They are recognised worldwide as the leading authority on food safety and authenticity. The facilities at the Institute of Global Food Security headquarters are very impressive – with a state of the art testing laboratory capable of detecting a wide range of chemical compounds”.

The effect of climate change has meant that growing and harvesting conditions for many of our key feed materials are conducive to the growth of the moulds which produce mycotoxins. “As our scheme has developed over the years we have seen the emergence of mycotoxins as a major threat to feed efficiency. QUB’s work has brought our awareness of these contaminants to a new level – we are now able to screen for 35 different mycotoxins – including many new and emerging toxins which often go undetected”.

Animals exposed to these toxins can suffer impaired feed intake and digestive disorders – often resulting in reduced performance. The impact varies according to species with pigs and young poultry most susceptible while adult ruminants are more tolerant. Mycotoxin loading is now factored in by feed formulators in preparing rations for different species and types of livestock to ensure optimum feed efficiency.

According to Dr Simon Haughey of Queens University “Food Fortress is an excellent exemplar of an industry collaborating and working with researchers and academia to add value to a key sector of the economy. It is unique to Northern Ireland and gives competitive advantage to our food producers while helping the industry meet its climate change commitments”.