Detecting and preventing contamination of dairy cattle feed

Description

Dairy feed has direct and indirect impacts on the safety of milk and milk products; feed also has implications for animal health and welfare, and the profitability of the dairy sector. This chapter starts with a brief outline of the role of feed in dairy cattle diets, emphasizing the common hazards associated with different feed ingredients. We outline the impacts, diagnosis, governance and management of feed contaminates in general. We then review identification, diagnosis and prevention of some of the most important dairy feed hazards, namely aflatoxins, Salmonella bacteria, persistent organic pollutants, veterinary drug residues and heavy metals.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Health and economic impacts of contaminants in dairy feed 3 Diagnosing contaminants and ensuring feed safety 4 Key hazards in dairy feeds: afl atoxins and other mycotoxins 5 Key hazards in dairy feeds: Salmonella and other biological hazards 6 Key hazards in dairy feeds: chemical hazards, veterinary drug residues and heavy metals 7 Conclusions 8 Where to look for further information 9 References