Under “Antibiotics Banning Policy”, Adisseo Ready to Empower China’s Animal Feed Industry

Under 'Antibiotics Banning Policy', Adisseo Ready to Empower China's Animal Feed Industry

Release time:2020-06-21

'Civilized man has marched across the face of the earth and left a desert in his footprints.'

The use of antibiotics as antimicrobial growth promoters (AGPs) is a great invention of human beings. However, with the passage of time, the abuse of antibiotics has led to various problems, such as drug residues, bacterial drug resistance, environmental pollution, etc. Today it has become the general trend to ban the use of antibiotics in feed and limit the use of antibiotics in medicine.

According to Announcement No. 194 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, starting from July 1, 2020, feed manufacturers should stop producing commercial feed with medicated feed additives (excluding traditional Chinese medicine) for growth promoting purposes.

As the deadline is getting close, it is urgent to find solutions for antibiotics replacement. Originated from France and with many years of antibiotics substitute experience in European and North American markets, Adisseo (SH: 600299) believes that antibiotics-free integrated feed solution has become a consensus of the industry and the portfolio of acidifiers, enzyme preparations and probiotics will be a feasible alternative.

Review: Why Medicated Feed Additives Are Used

As early as 1946, Moore's study found that antibiotics could promote the growth of broilers. Since the 1950s, the breeding industry in Europe and America had gradually legitimized the use of feeding antibiotics, with the trend quickly spreading to countries all over the world.

Once as the savior of the feed industry, antibiotics have many advantages. For the same feed, with the use of antibiotics, the utilization and transformation efficiency can be improved, which can not only save feed cost, but also allow the livestock to grow faster.

At the same time, scientific studies have found that the growth rate of livestock can be additionally increased. It can not only increase the size of hogs, but also has outstanding performance in aspects such as weaning, fattening, etc. The mortality and morbidity rate of live hogs will also decrease with the use of this kind of feed. If antibiotic feed is kept using continuously, the mortality and morbidity rate will be significantly reduced.

Reflection: Why Antibiotics Banned in Feed

Among the total amount of the world's annual consumption of antibiotics, 90% is used on food source animals, which makes problems like bacterial drug resistance and drug residues become increasingly acute. What's worse, the abuse of antibiotics will bring serious consequences such as carcinogenesis and teratogenesis. If not used properly, it will lead to bacterial resistance development, and consequently 'super-bacteria' will appear. In addition, these antibiotics can contaminate soil by entering the natural environment from livestock excreta.

Major developed countries such as the United States, the European Union and Japan, have introduced laws to prohibit the addition of antibiotics in feed since the 1980s.

China is one of the countries with the largest use of antibiotics in the world. In order to ensure food safety and life health of the citizens, China has begun to promote the prohibition of veterinary antibiotics since 2015, further reinforced the policy since 2019, and will implement the full withdrawal of antibiotics from feed in 2020.

Impact: Feed Additive Industry Is Undergoing Profound Changes

With the implementation of Announcement No. 194, farms or feed factories will be affected first. Taking hog feed as an example, without antibiotics, the growth cycle will increase, and the time for hogs to be launched to the market will also be prolonged. The porkling may suffer diarrhea, dysentery, etc., with the mortality rate increased, resulting in more medicine cost. The feed conversion rate will be low and various problems will emerge.

'Antibiotics-free' and 'antibiotics banning' will cause great changes in the industry, which is not unprecedented in Europe. In 2006, the European Union formally issued relevant policies and regulations prohibiting the use of antibiotic products for growth promotion in feed. However, the European Union was not fully prepared technically back then. As a result, in the first two years after the introduction of antibiotics banning policy in Europe, there was no obvious decrease of the total amount of antibiotics use because though the use of growth promoting antibiotics in feed decreased significantly, the amount of antibiotics in the prescription for treatment by farm veterinarians increased significantly. After two years of transformation and exploration, many solutions had been found in developed breeding areas in Europe, such as Denmark, Germany and France, gradually reducing the negative impact of the disuse of growth promoting antibiotics in feed.

The history of antibiotics banning in Europe shows that 'antibiotics free' and 'antibiotics banning' is actually a long process, which requires all-round development in technology, management, laws and regulations. However, as long as the whole industry reaches a consensus on rational use of antibiotics and adheres to 'antibiotics banning', a good solution will surely be found.

We should take a broader and long-term view towards the changes brought by the policy. In the long run, the animal husbandry and feed industry in China will usher in a new era of technological innovation, transformation and upgrading. According to the analysis article of the prospective industry research institute Analysis on the Development Status and Trend of China's Feed Additive Industry in 2020 - Increasing Demand for Additives, based on the statistics of national animal husbandry station and China Feed Industry Association, China's feed additive output in 2019 is about 11.992 million tons, an increase of 5.8% over 2018. From 2014 to 2019, the compound growth rate of China's feed additive output is about 8.35%. By calculation, in 2020, China's feed additive output will exceed 12.9 million tons, and by 2025, it will exceed 20 million tons. There is a large market room for 'antibiotics replacement'.

Solution: Adisseo Is Ready to Provide 'Antibiotics Replacement' Solutions for China based on Its European Experiences

The market of specialty feed additive products will be further opened under the demand for 'antibiotics replacement'. As a global leader in animal nutrition field, with the vision of 'being committed to improving the animal food chain, protecting animals, humans and the environment', Adisseo fully supports 'antibiotics banning policy ' in China.

Based on Adisseo's years of experience in antibiotics free and substitute research and development, one single or one single type of additives can't completely replace the growth promoting effect of antibiotics. In order to achieve the effect of AGPs, an integrated portfolio solution is needed. In this respect, Adisseo has found solutions, which have been practiced in Europe for many years and promoted all over the world. Now, Adisseo will fully empower China's feed additive industry to promote the sustainable development of the breeding industry, so as to provide better quality, more economic and environment-friendly food for Chinese consumers.

Adisseo's current animal nutrition additives can not only help satisfy animals' needs of essential nutrients, but also help improve animals' digestibility and stabilize the intestinal beneficial bacteria. The strengthening of intestinal function can significantly enhance the resistance to harmful microorganisms, so as to improve the health level of animals. Through promotion of such products, Adisseo has played a positive role in the prudent use of antibiotics to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance.

In addition to nutritional products, Adisseo's specialty product series can provide antibiotics substitute solutions through various portfolios of acidifiers, enzyme preparations and probiotics.

In terms of enzyme preparations, take Adisseo's star product Rovabio® the superior complex enzyme as an example. Obtained by liquid fermentation of non-transgenic strain Penicillium funiculosum, it contains 19 natural homologous symbiotic enzymes. It can effectively improve the digestibility and utilization rate of raw materials from vegetal origin for animals such as corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, soybean meal, rapeseed meal, cottonseed meal, DDGS, etc., improve the production performance of animal and achieve good economic results.

In terms of probiotic products, Alterion launched by Adisseo in 2016 can inhibit the growth of a variety of pathogenic microorganisms in the gut, strong resistance, is the solution for probiotic animal intestinal health research program. Adisseo's acquisition of Nutriad has brought in two new kinds of products, while the 3A solution portfolio of Adimix Butyrate, Apex phytogenic and Alterion's probiotic makes further improvement on the production line of livestock gut health.

Post Antibiotics-free Era: Leading Sustainable Development of China's Feed Industry

Looking forward, Adisseo will continue to provide better feed solutions based on research and innovation through its R&D center in Nanjing, Adisseo's R&D and innovation platform in China and also one of Adisseo's two global chemical research centers.

Encouraging news is the investment within antibiotics replacement sector invested by AVF Fund has been completed recently. The invested company has successfully developed and launched a bacteriophage product, which can help prevent livestock and aquaculture animals from bacterial infection.

'Make time for civilization, for civilization won't make time', as the science fiction The Three Body Problem illustrates that, scientific innovation and sustainable development provides mankind a better life. With over 80 years' continuous innovation, Adisseo has developed into a global leader in animal nutrition and nutritional solutions. As China' s antibiotics banning policy becomes fully effective, Adisseo is ready to empower the sustainable development of China's animal feed industry by leveraging its global experiences in providing antibiotics free feed solutions.

*This article includes product information. For further information regarding the products, please contact Adisseo' product manager.