TRENDING FILE 54 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2022 ZERO ZINC BAN IS NOTHING NEW FOR THE FRENCH FEED INDUSTRY* “Zero Zinc” era is nothing new for the local industry in France. Nevertheless, in a period of reduction of antibiotics usage, it is a major concern for the veterinarians, who miss a nice and cheap solution to help the pig farmers at controlling health issues at weaning.” In France, piglet pre-starter feeds have been designed for fast growth in the last three decades, at least. Cost and safety, defined as low incidence of scours, drive the market segmentation. Altogether, these diets can be defined as High Nutrient Density Diets, with more or less investment on feedstuffs and additives for digestive health control. In the late 1980’s, first reports on use of “pharmacological level” of zinc oxide (ZnO) crossed the Atlantic Ocean: 1500 to 3000 ppm ZnO added to the diet of piglets during one or two weeks post-weaning were successful to control diarrhea and to promote growth. At the same time, national rules on maximum content of N, P and trace elements in pig feed were published, aiming to reduce the impact of pork production on the environment. Since the very start then, the French nutritionists were aware of the effect of ZnO on piglets, but it was forbidden to use in practice. It changed at the end of 2014, when a ZnO premix was registered in the EU as a vet prescription. This decision was rapidly challenged by political actions, resulting in the withdrawal of authorization for ZnO prescription voted in 2018, applicable early July 2022. From the start of 2015 to the end of 2020, high ZnO could be used in France. However, feeding practice had changed since the 1980’s: feed volume with veterinary prescription in 2015 accounted for less than 40% of the total, compared to >95% in the 1990’s. ZnO premix was exchanged for antibiotics, it did not boost the tonnage of prescription diets. Because of this, high ZnO inclusion has never been a main driver of piglet pre-starter feed design in our country. As a consequence, “Zero Zinc” era is nothing new for the local industry. Nevertheless, in a period of reduction of antibiotics usage, it is a major concern for the veterinarians, who miss a nice and cheap solution to help the pig farmers at controlling health issues at weaning. For the nutritionist, weanling pig feed design remains driven by palatability, digestibility and cost. David Guillou Senior Researcher miXscience *This article was excerpted from the White Paper, which was published by Natur-add platform and entitled “What are the concerns of doing without therapeutic doses of zinc oxide in piglet feeds?”
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