All pelleted feeds look the same, but are they the same?

We understand that for our customers, it’s difficult to assess the difference between one feed and another. This is why we share our feed product specifications, which detail our recipes, how we make up our products and the specific quality controls we have in place for each product.

At ARASCO, legal requirements are the minimal standards we apply. We adhere to Saudi Feed Law as prescribed by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA), but we go further than that, as you’d expect a leading company to do. For example, we prefer laying hens to eat crumbled feeds rather than mash feeds because it’s safer - for the birds and for egg consumers. And because of that, we’ve invested in crumbling machines.

Questions from our customers
Do you have a question that hasn’t been covered below? Please let us know and we’ll be happy to respond and add it to this list.

At ARASCO, do you analyse your raw materials?
Yes, we work according to international standards and we keep the results of our analyses on file.

Does the government inspect ARASCO operations?
The SFDA (Saudi Food & Drug Authority) frequently inspects our feed plants.

Do ARASCO feeds contain raw materials that need cold storage?
Yes, vitamins and other components of our feeds need to be kept fresh at low temperatures in our special cold storage units until we use them.

Why do you need to run laboratory analysis on feeds?
Lab analysis is very important, since we work with biological materials that vary in nutrient content. This is why we invested in Near Infrared Analysis (NIR) technology, to speed up the process and work in line with global accuracy standards.

Does ARASCO know when my WAFI feed was produced?
Within seconds of closing, each bag of WAFI is printed with the date, time and place the product was made – making it traceable by the individual raw ingredients. This all happens without any human intervention.

Can I be sure that the vitamin levels in my feeds are according specification?
Absolutely. Our premixes of smaller feed ingredients like vitamins also contain special, non-harmful tracers. These tracers make it easy to measure the vitamin content of our feeds, even without expensive and time-consuming laboratory analysis. Moreover, we perform laboratory analysis as a routine.

How does ARASCO make sure you’re operating within the law?
Our Quality team assures that we’re in keeping with Feed Law every single day. We also have internal audits to check our compliance. We calibrate our scales regularly to assure that weights are correct; our weights are registered in our business system without human intervention. Lastly, all our business processes are ISO-certified and we assure that this is also in line with laws and governmental rules.

What does HACCP mean?
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe. HACCP reduces these risks to a safe level.

What is the value of ARASCO’s ISO certifications for me as a customer?
We maintain our ISO certification to improve our business processes so we can give our customers the products they expect from us. From a food safety point of view, of course it’s important for our customers that we’re ISO 22001 certified. This certification comprises what is internationally known as HACCP.

Why did I once find mould in my WAFI feed?
At ARASCO, we don’t store feeds. After we produce them, they’re immediately transported to the market. We use special, strong bags to keep our products fresh. We give our WAFI distributors strong tarpaulins to protect the feeds during transportation. We advise that you check the production date on any bags containing mould, and contact your distributor right away. Most likely the mould grew during storage under less favourable conditions.

Why do protein levels fluctuate in feed analysis?
Understanding protein results is complicated. Firstly, protein is not analysed in laboratories - the nitrogen content is. The preparation of the feed sample can create huge deviations when proteins are not properly exposed to the analysis. Also, there are several methods that can be used which not all give the same accurate result.

We use Near Infrared Analysis (NIR). This is a fast and ultra-reliable test that requires minimal human handling, which is why it’s preferred in the feed industry worldwide.

Even if everything is alright, every laboratory test number has a spread around the value that is reported. If you every have any doubt, we recommend re-testing. Contact our quality experts – it’s their job to give our customers independent support.