FAQ

Quality Assurance is the cornerstone of our business and product philosophy. This means that we:

  • Back our products with numerous analyses from both internal and independent testing laboratories
  • Check every batch with a pesticide analysis
  • Blend products to meet stringent targets for each fatty acid
  • Adhere to all requirements of our Safe Feed/Safe Food certification at all three production facilities
  • Use raw materials obtained only from preferred suppliers
  • Formulate all products to deliver maximum caloric value on a consistent basis
  • Perform continuous auditing to assure that foreign materials are removed

A consistent source of high-quality raw materials is important because:

  • Nutrient predictability is assured
  • Safety is never a hit-or-miss proposition
  • An uninterrupted supply allows for greater efficiency and timeliness in both producing and delivering products
  • Traceability of ingredients to a reputable source assures and supports our Safe Feed/Safe Food certification
 

Quite simply, low-quality raw materials do not meet our high standards for delivering safe feed to our valued customers. Issues with low-quality raw materials include:

  • Inconsistent Fatty Acid Profiles (FAP) caused by unknown and widely variable amounts of animal & vegetable portions
  • Variance in animal and vegetable makeup
  • Concerns for safety — due to the lack of security surrounding storage, transfer and collection processes
  • The buildup of polymers — due to temperature elevation in fat fryers — which decreases the caloric content

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) created this program to demonstrate and ensure continuous improvement in the delivery of a safe and wholesome feed supply for the growth and care of animals. Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification is limited to companies in the feed industry that demonstrate a commitment to food safety through the building and maintaining consumer confidence in food products by:

  • Tracking and tracing materials to the point of origin
  • Assuring safety throughout the food chain
  • Maintaining longstanding relationships with preferred suppliers of raw materials
  • Utilizing consistent and stringent Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  • Conducting third-party, independent audits to confirm Safe Feed/Safe Food compliance

We believe strongly that operating an in-house laboratory offers several very important advantages to our customers. These advantages mean that Feed Energy’s scientific and technical staff:

  • Test every load of raw material that arrives at our plants
  • Provide immediate analytical feedback
  • Monitor process control
  • Assure that all products are within safe guidelines and meet Feed Energy’s high standards
  • Maintain a continuous link between production and outside laboratories
  • Retain load samples according to Safe Feed/Safe Food protocols

 

See a photo tour of our lab.

We believe strongly that adding the objectivity and expertise of an outside laboratory is an important “belt & suspenders” approach to the quality assurance program run by Feed Energy and offers several very important advantages to our customers:

  • Serves as a quality check on Feed Energy laboratory tests and results
  • Provides our technical staff immediate access to industry professionals
  • Supplies external tracking and tracing records
  • Links to critical emerging events and threats in the feed-to-food industry

Your loads are delivered by our trained and reliable drivers. Our important transportation practices include:

  • Clean fleets are essential to biosecurity issues
  • On-site maintenance reduces fleet downtime and means our drivers are ready to roll when you need product
  • Partnerships with trusted outside fleet companies that meet and follow our company driver and fleet requirements

A finely tuned tank system is critical to the efficiency of a feed mixing system. To learn more about tank options, click here.

  • There are a number of reasons to include high energy fat in your ruminant and non-ruminant feed rations. Nutritionally, fats provide a concentrated source of energy and essential fatty acids that:

    • Increases the energy density of the diet
    • Boosts the Linoleic Acid level in the diet, an important immune system booster
    • Improves palatability and feed efficiency
    • Raises reproductive efficiency
    • Reduces dust and particle separation
    • Glues all of the micro-ingredients of a diet in place

Soybean soapstock is derived from vegetable oil refining and is the cornerstone of Feed Energy products. Soapstock is produced through chemical bonding — with a caustic such as sodium hydroxide — of the minute amounts of specific fatty acids from the crude oil in the vegetable oil refining process. Soapstock also will contain whole vegetable oil and the gums from the degumming process. In addition, soapstock has a high concentration of tocopherols (Vitamin E and antioxidants), pigments (carotenoids) and phytosterols. Acidulated soapstock has a highly concentrated amount of free fatty acids, which compresses the most metabolic energy possible into a pound of oil.

Linoleic Acid is a member of the group of essential fatty acids called Omega-6 fatty acids, so called because these are essential dietary requirements for livestock and poultry. These cannot be made by the animal’s digestive system and must be provided by a feed ingredient.

 

It has been proven that the dietary linoleic acid does indeed increase egg size. Increasing the dietary Linoleic Acid content to somewhere between 2-4 percent (depending on the birds’ age) increases egg weight. Linoleic Acid has also been found to be important in helping pullets achieve heavier case weights at an earlier age. It allows the yolk to contain a higher level of this unsaturated fatty acid, the presence of which has been deemed more healthy than saturated fatty and trans-fatty acids.

High FFA is unlikely to affect the performance of layer hens.