Use of co-products (circularity)

Last update: 2 June 2023

• Action: Increase the use of co-products to reduce competition with direct food production and reduce environmental impact.
• Animal category: All species.
• Technique: Incorporation of co-products that result from other industrial processes in feed formulation.
• Mode of action: The use in feed of co-products (e.g. dried distillers grains, processed animal protein, sunflower meal) reduces the environmental impact of feed production, while they are not human-edible and contribute to circularity by closing the nutrient cycle in the food chain.
• Mode of implementation: Co-products are created at the level of food and non-food industries, who must apply EU feed legislation to ensure the safety and integrity of the material.
• Requirements/limitations: Suppliers of co-products must comply with EU feed legislation, even though their core focus may lie with other market outlets (e.g. food, biofuel).
• Economic consequences: Co-products, while usually available on local markets, are often also traded as commodities. Their availability of co-products are often used as a hedging tool in feed material procurement, thereby helping to control price volatility for livestock farmers.
• Other considerations: Co-products are nutrient-rich resources, contributing to animal growth and well-being.
• References:
  • Alessandro Vastolo et al. (2022). A review on the use of agro-industrial CO products in animals’ diets. Italian Journal of Animal Science 21(1):577-594. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2022.2039562
  • Robin Crawshaw (2001). Co-Product Feeds: Animal Feeds from the Food and Drinks Industries. Nottingham University Press, Nottingham, 2001 pp 285, ISBN 1-897676-35-2
  • FEFAC (2022). Publication “Circular Feed”. https://fefac.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FEFAC-circular-feed-publication.pdf