SUSTAINABILITY 70 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE December 2025 The result is a palatable ingredient that can support milk fat production, improve rumen health, and increase overall dry matter intake when incorporated into dairy and beef cattle rations. It’s produced under rigorous safety standards and offers health advantages. Feed made from recycled foods is produced to the same standards as conventional feeds. It’s also less susceptible to most of the mycotoxins, like aflatoxin and vomitoxin, that can be found in grain-equivalent feeds. It can lower farmers’ input costs. Feed created from unsold and uneaten food can be supplied at a price equivalent to or lower than a farmer’s lowest-cost feed formulation. It can also reduce the need for fat additives that are sometimes used with grain-equivalent feed to further save costs. These ingredients also offer reliable flowability, uniform grind, and predictable bulk density, which makes them straightforward to store, handle, and blend in commercial feed mills. HOW UNEATEN FOOD BECOMES A RELIABLE FEED INGREDIENT When uneaten food is recycled into animal feed, food that would have gone to the landfill begins a whole new journey and gains a whole new purpose. The process begins with raw materials that have already been pre-identified at the source. The organic recycling company works with food manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants to determine which of their unsold food streams are suitable for animal feed. This pre-identification is important because it ensures that only feed-grade material is collected for feed manufacturing. Once received at a feed manufacturing facility, all incoming food material is screened to ensure quality and suitability for feed. If needed, the material is then depackaged on-site. Depackaging machines mechanically separate the feed-grade food materials from their packaging. This mechanical separation ensures only the clean, feed-grade materials enter the feed manufacturing process. After depackaging, the bulk raw material is aggregated and prepared for processing. Next, the material is put through a validated heat process to neutralize any potential pathogens. After heating, it is mixed and ground to create a homogeneous finished product that meets defined nutritional specifications. Throughout this process, several steps are taken to protect the quality and safety of the food product as it is recycled into animal feed. These steps include: Photo: Denali Chips collected for animal feed production
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