Feed & Ingredient Analysis with FT-NIR Spectroscopy

Feed Analysis with FT-NIR Spectroscopy

Animal Feed Analysis

FT-NIR Spectroscopy for QC in the Lab and Production.

Feed Ingredients

Know your raw materials to streamline feed production.

Feed & Forages

Ensure livestock welfare by feeding optimized rations.

Pet Food

Proximate analysis helps tp provide top quality at least cost.

Premixes & Additives

Adding value to your feed products by customizing your premixes.

Partners

Teaming up with the best in the industry to provide the optimum solutions for you.

Bruker Optics
NIR Solutions for the Animal Feed Industry

In order to maintain an optimum balance between feed costs and productivity, all feed ingredients should be verified for nutrient concentration and these values are then used to formulate the rations and required supplements.

However, the used feedstuffs may differ widely in composition, due to origin, fertilizer use, seasonal changes, transport or storage. The raw materials delivered to the feed mill are likely to contain varying nutrient levels, depending on supplier, or even day of delivery.

Fourier Transform Near Infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) spectroscopy provides a fast and effective solution for analyzing raw materials as well as finished feeds in order to optimize the production steps and monitor the final product quality.

Optimizing the production of animal nutrition is vital, since it represents the largest operating cost for most commercial livestock producers. FT-NIR helps to deliver the best quality at lowest cost.

In contrast to most wet-chemistry and other reference methods the FT-NIR technology is quick, cost- effective, non-destructive and safe, since it does not use chemicals, solvents or gases. It simply measures the absorption of near-infrared light of the sample at different wavelengths recording molecular vibrations of all molecules containing C-H, N-H or O-H groups. By this NIR spectroscopy is the first choice for the analysis of all kind of materials on fat, protein, fiber, moisture ash and more, making it ideal for a wide variety of feeds, ingredients forages, and other foodstuffs.

The key benefits of FT-NIR spectroscopy are:
  • no sample preparation, no waste
  • no special skills required, easy sample presentation
  • no typical errors of classical lab methods
  • analysis of multiple components in less than one minute
  • suitable for any solid, semi-solid or liquid sample

Bruker offers the most comprehensive range of FT-NIR solutions for quality control and formulation adjustments from raw materials to finished feed:

Quality control of feed ingredients and additives

Wheat as a raw material

To produce the optimum feed at lowest cost it is important to know everything about your raw materials. With FT-NIR spectroscopy, you receive the information you need for your feed formulation software in a matter of seconds rather than hours or days when using conventional technology.

Moreover, due to the speed and low cost of each single analysis, you can have a much tighter control on what is going into the finished feed, thus optimizing the feed quality and reducing out-of-spec production.

Our touch-screen operated TANGO FT-NIR spectrometer is ideal, even to use in the production area, since it needs no expert training and the user interface comes in 17 languages.

Monitoring the feed production process

Silos with corn

To maximize profit in your feed production, FT-NIR is an essential tool. Modern online technology enables you to have a clear picture at any stage of production, from storage to milling, mixing, drying and pelleting.

The MATRIX-F FT-NIR spectrometer comes with either contactless measurement heads or with diffuse reflection probes. Our experts will find together with you the best technology and the optimum installation point.

With online analysis, you know exactly what is happening at all stages and can make the right decisions. This helps you to keep tight margins, manage quality and dramatically reduce the amount of re-work.

Ensuring the final feed quality

Hand with fish feed

The ideal diet for a particular type of animal varies with type of breed, stage of life and environmental influences. To match the customers’ expectations on the nutritional requirements of their livestock, but also comply to governmental regulations, it is essential to know the accurate composition of the finished product before shipping.

An average feed mill can easily produce more than hundred different types of feed, depending on the type of animal or pet. Considering the huge number of samples for analysis, classic lab techniques tend to be time consuming since they often base on labor-intensive chemical methods. These require not only experienced staff, but often involve hazardous chemicals. FT-NIR spectroscopy on the other hand allows a multi-component analysis of the main constituents in less than a minute. This is of course also valid for premixes and amino acid supplements.


Further Information

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