In the European feed industry, the use of ‘circular feed’ is identified as a key performance indicator for the industry’s commitment to sustainability. By ensuring that residual materials are reintegrated into the food chain rather than discarded as waste, circular feed practices promote a more sustainable and efficient system, enhancing the overall circularity of food production.
President
European Former Foodstuff Processors Association (EFFPA)
Former foodstuffs are foodstuffs that were manufactured for human consumption in full compliance with the EU food law but which are no longer intended for human consumption for practical or logistical reasons or due to problems of manufacturing or packaging defects or other defects and which do not present any health risks when used as feed. Former foodstuff processing is a well-established business in the agri-food chain, with a production of approximately 5 million tonnes in Europe. Former foodstuff processors are essentially feed ingredient manufacturers, with the ability to produce a stable product all-year round that can serve the sustainability ambitions of compound feed manufacturers as regards carbon emissions reductions and increased circularity.
FORMER FOODSTUFFS AND ANIMAL NUTRITION
It is a reality that not all processed food reaches consumers. At the food manufacturing level, a portion is redirected to other channels due to production errors, such as being broken, misshaped, improperly flavored, or mislabeled. While these “former foodstuffs” may no longer hold commercial value in the market for human consumption, thanks to former foodstuff processors they still retain a high nutritional value for animal feed purposes. There are many examples of former foodstuffs used in animal feed, such as bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits, confectionery, chocolate, pasta, yoghurts and syrups. They typically represent an excellent source of energy, being rich in sugar, starch, oils, and fats. In animal nutrition formulation, processed former foodstuffs serve as an effective alternative to cereal grains like wheat, maize, or barley. Additionally, the processed former food products largely consist of products that have undergone a baking process. Because of this baking process, the starch is gelatinized, making the products very suitable for young animals.
Processed former foodstuffs are a useful ingredient to meet the nutritional requirements in basically all farm animal diets. In Europe it’s traditionally used in pig and ruminant nutrition, however increasingly the poultry sector is taking an interest, while also in pet food there are applications. The study Nutritional evaluation of former food products intended for pig nutrition by Giromini et al (2017) referred to processed former foodstuffs as a “fat-enriched version of cereal grains” because they contain more fat while still providing a similar amount of starch. This makes them particularly valuable for compound feed production, where mixing fats with other ingredients is normally an additional step in the processing. Since the fats in former foodstuffs are already integrated into the product, they simplify the feed production process while providing a rich energy source and nutrients for animals.
A LOW CARBON FOOTPRINTING VALUE
The agri-food industry is increasingly scrutinized for its environmental impact and sustainability practices. In this context, feed sourcing and production play a significant role in driving these impacts. Because former foodstuffs destined to animal feed are a by-product of food production, they also carry a low carbon footprint. The PEFCR Feed for Food-Producing Animals is the methodology that describes how the footprint in compound feed production should be measured. The footprint of a feed material is underpinned by economic allocation. This means that the (very) low economic value of former foodstuffs sold as feed compared to their value on the food market is translated into a low footprint.
The EFFPA members BFAN (Germany), UKFFPA (UK) and VIDO (NL) have successfully submitted datasets on the footprint of several processed former foodstuff products to the GFLI Database, which is the global reference for carbon and environmental footprint data on commonly used feed ingredients. Operators with access to the GFLI database can use these datasets in their feed formulation strategies to assess the reduction impact when replacing nutritionally equivalent feed ingredients (typically a grain like wheat or maize, plus a fat-based ingredient like palm oil) with processed former foodstuffs and use processed former foodstuffs as part of the strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of feed and livestock production.
A KEY EXAMPLE OF CIRCULAR FEED
In the European feed industry, the use of “circular feed” is identified as a key performance indicator for the industry’s commitment to sustainability. By ensuring that residual materials are reintegrated into the food chain rather than discarded as waste, circular feed practices promote a more sustainable and efficient system, enhancing the overall circularity of food production. FEFAC, representing the European Feed Manufacturers’ Association, made a publication in 2022 on Circular Feed, describing the conceptual approach and providing a large range of examples. Former foodstuffs are one of the circular feed examples mentioned. In addition, the use of former foodstuffs in feed is a means to prevent food waste at food manufacturer and retail level.
Circular feed, including former foodstuffs, has the potential to be a key driver of more sustainable livestock production. However, the current regulations are a bit of a tightrope walk, balancing the rules for both food and feed production. On top of that, there’s an uneven playing field when it comes to the use of these residual materials. The energy sector, for example, uses the same former foodstuffs to turn ‘waste’ into energy. However, since they often receive subsidies and can charge higher prices for their end products, they end up paying more for these materials. A fairer situation could emerge if policymakers introduced clearer rules about the hierarchy of use, as outlined in the WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. This guide ranks food waste prevention and redistribution to food banks as the top priority, with animal feed as the next best option, while energy production falls under the ‘waste’ category.
Beyond regulatory compliance, we are dedicated to advancing professionalism and driving improvements toward a more circular production system. This commitment involves investing in advanced technologies and exploring innovative products and sources to enhance the nutritional value and sustainability of animal nutrition.
PREVENTING FOOD WASTE
It is crucial to remember that EFFPA members strongly endorse the ethical duty of food producers to donate surplus food to those in need. However, the logistical challenges involved in managing food removed from the commercial market can be daunting. These former foodstuffs often arrive in unpredictable quantities, with a mix of intermediate and finished products, making processing and distribution more complex. Therefore, rather than losing all the nutrients, food producers reduce waste and losses by redirecting unsellable food, while feed producers gain an energy-rich alternative to grains, and enabling the European livestock sector to lower its carbon & environmental footprint by mitigating its level of competition with ‘direct’ food production and reducing its dependence on imported feed materials lowering raw material demands.
About Alexander Romme
Alexander Romme (NL) is the President of EFFPA, the European Former Foodstuff Processors Association, since October 2023. He is also Chairman of VIDO (Dutch Former Foodstuff Processors Association) and Vice-Chairman of BFAN (German Former Foodstuff Processors Association). In company life, he is Chief Material Management Officer at FeedValid.
