ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE January 2025 49 Beyond nutritional requirements, feed can play a crucial role in disease prevention. The industry faces significant challenges due to increasing parasite resistance, necessitating a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of disease and improving overall welfare. The poultry industry, for example, faces significant challenges previously controlled by antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs), such as growing resistance among parasites and environmental residues due to anticoccidial drugs. This has led to a need for a holistic approach to poultry production, incorporating a combination of different types of feed additives to break the cycle of disease and improve overall performance. Phytogenics can play a significant role in this approach. These substances may contain thousands of active constituents, making it difficult for bacteria to develop resistance due to the multiple and potentially synergistic active compounds. Studies have shown that pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes can develop resistance to phytogenics in vitro at a similar rate to conventional antibiotics. However, the quorum sensing (QS) strategy offers a novel approach to combating bacterial infections by interrupting microbial communication instead of eliminating the microorganisms. REDUCING ANIMAL STRESS Animal welfare goes beyond maintaining health— it includes reducing stress, another key area of focus in the regulatory landscape. Regulations such as the EU's Animal Welfare Strategy emphasize the importance of reducing stress to improve overall animal welfare. Stress can negatively impact animal health, productivity, and welfare, making it a critical area for regulatory compliance. Cargill offers a variety of tailored solutions to address these challenges. For instance, BehavePro, formulated from active botanical ingredients, helps reduce stress and anxiety in pigs, improving their performance and welfare. It can be incorporated into all diets, supporting sows, piglets, growers, and finishers by reducing aggression and promoting stable growth rates. BALANCING ANIMAL WELFARE AND SUSTAINABILITY Enhancing animal health and welfare must be considered alongside sustainability. This makes balancing the animal production equation a little more challenging. Across the EU, companies are under growing pressure to increase use of circular ingredients, reducing competition with human consumption, while maintaining high production.
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