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Feed Testing: Low Protein, Chinese Feed Better

China's Ministry of Agriculture announced feed testing results for 2011. The report says that quality of feed continued its trend of improvement in 2011. However, the report highlighted continuing problems with failure of compound feed and premixes to meet stated protein content. The results show that illegal substances like clenbuterol and melamine were detected in only a few samples, but the report notes that these illegal additives remain a "hidden danger."

Of 18,032 samples tested, 95.5 percent were found compliant with standards. The lowest compliance rates were found for premixes, especially for trace elements and vitamins.

The Ministry posted seven lists of companies whose feed failed tests. The first list contains 68 samples of various kinds of feeds in which heavy metals, aflatoxins and salmonella were detected. Other lists include companies supplying uncompliant fish meal, additives that failed to include vitamins stated on labels, companies supplying uncompliant imported feeds, imported pet food, and companies whose feed contained banned additives. A "black list" of imported feeds included companies from South Korea, Spain, Italy, the U.S., Switzerland, Belgium and France. The results reported a higher rejection rate for imported feeds than for domestic feeds.


China 2011 Feed Testing Results
Description Samples Compliant
Number Percent
All feed samples 18,032 95.51
Commercial feed samples 6,686
Compound feed 2,469 98.06
Concentrate feed 1,117 96.51
Additive and premix 786 87.91
  Premix 89.70
  Trace elements in premix 80.19
  Vitamins 81.63
Domestic feed additives 591 96.62
Imported feed additives 203 91.13
Animal-based feeds 697 90.39
Plant-based feed materials 597 98.49
Forbidden additives detected samples (number) samples detected (percent)
Production, marketing and users 10,346
Malachite green 440 0.45
Clenbuterol 4,795 0.91
Melamine 2,514 0.08
Ractopamine na 0.00
Salbutamol na 0.00
Sudan red dye na 0.00
Furazolidone na 0.00
Diazepam na 0.00
Diethylstilbestrol na 0.00
Chloromycetin na 0.00
samples samples passed (percent)
Feed label testing 8,489 93.96
Compound feed 3,522 95.49
Additives and premix 888 95.61
Domestic additives 556 98.38
Imported additives 203 94.09
Imported pet food 199 98.99
Domestic pet food 27 96.30
Animal-based feeds 603 77.94
Plant-based feed 540 94.81
Concentrate supplements 1,431 98.32
Heavy metals
Detected (percent)
Lead 4,055 0.25
Cadmium 2,514 0.16
Fish meal chromium 353 3.68
Salmonella 4,061 0.10
AflatoxinB1 3,344 0.21
Compliant
(percent)
Pet food imports 199 99.50



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