ISSUE FOCUS 24 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2026 Preserving cereals and feed is no longer just about inhibiting spoilage, but about delivering long-term safety, performance, and health across the production chain. As limitations of traditional organic acids and formaldehyde become increasingly clear, next-generation natural preservatives are redefining feed protection. By combining broad-spectrum microbicidal efficacy with safety, durability, and added intestinal benefits, innovative technologies now offer a more sustainable and effective approach to safeguarding feed quality and animal productivity. Preserving feed consists of maintaining its characteristics; i.e., preventing the loss of nutrients and energy value caused by the action of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) present in the feed. Preserving these nutritional and energy properties is essential to achieve good productive parameters, while simultaneously preventing important pathologies. The preservation of cereals and compound feed is carried out through the inclusion of products that minimize this deterioration — preservatives — which also help prevent digestive infectious diseases and other derived problems, such as mycotoxicosis. ANALYSIS OF THE MOST COMMON PRESERVATIVES FOR FEED AND RAW MATERIALS The most common preservatives on the market can be divided into three main types: organic acids, formaldehyde, and natural preservatives. The first group has been used for decades to preserve both raw materials and compound feed. Their mechanism is based on reducing the intracellular pH of pathogens to inhibit their metabolic processes and, therefore, their multiplication. In other words, they mainly exert a bacteriostatic and fungistatic effect. Formaldehyde is usually applied to grains for the control, among others, of Salmonella, a bacterium of great concern to poultry and swine industries due to its consequences for animals and the zoonotic potential of some strains. Finally, some natural preservatives have emerged in the industry, standing out for achieving equal or, in many cases, superior efficacy compared to the previously mentioned solutions. In this regard, a technology has been developed based on the synergy between cineole, cimenol ring, and isopropyl methyl-phenol, botanical molecules which, when combined with citric acid, are capable of eliminating a wide variety of microorganisms that cause feed deterioration through membrane disruption. NEXT-GENERATION PRESERVATIVES FOR CEREALS AND FEED David Díez Arias Veterinary Manager Biovet S.A. Laboratories
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