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Improving through sharing with early warning by Johan den Hartog, GMP+ International Weather conditions during cultivation and harvest; procedure changes in cultivation; transport or processing of (raw) feed materials; human failure or even fraud; many elements can negatively impact feed safety. Our early warning system (EWS) teaches us that each year brings on new challenges. “Sharing information from EWS through the feed chain strengthens the management of current threats, risks and incidents and consequently contributes to safe feed”, says Johan den Hartog, Managing Director of GMP+ International. With its recent publication of the ‘Annual Report Early Warning System 2013-2014’ GMP+ International reports 62 EWS notifications in 2013 and 74 in 2014. The numbers increased compared to the previous years, a trend that seems to continue in 2015. The notifications are dominated by mycotoxins. This threat counted for more than 50 percent of all notifications in 2013 and one-third in 2014. In 2013 Europe was hit by a serious incident with Aflatoxine B1 in maize (harvest 2012) from the Balkan region. Less Afla-problems were reported in 2014, but more Don (Deoxynivalenol), Zea (Zearalenon) and Ergot. Rainfall during cultivation and harvest in the Balkan region and specific parts of France and Germany were the main natural causes for fungal diseases in the crops and harvest.
Non-manageable
Weather conditions are non manageable. “That’s why it is hardly surprising that feed materials are mostly involved in EWS notifications. Over 80 percent of the notifications in 2013 and 90 percent in 2014 concerned feed materials”, states Den Hartog. Compound feed, additives, premixes and former foodstuffs caused less problems to the participants of the GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance module
10 | October 2015 - Milling and Grain
(GMP+ FSA). In feed materials pesticides seriously increased in 2014 (12 notifications, in 2013 only 3). Dioxin was another problem threatening feed safety (reported seven times in 2013 and six times in 2014). The summer of 2014 was marked with the Furazolidon incident found in soy mix, soy meal and milled grain. This was serious, the consequences significant. It demonstrated the importance of executing the utmost care in selling, purchasing and processing feed materials, once again. Den Hartog: “For GMP+ International, the evaluation of this incident resulted in improvements in our feed safety management system. And it was a substantial input for the profound renewal of the integrity policy within GMP+ FSA which was running at that moment.”
Important role
“We keep learning from individual notifications and information from EWS-evaluations”, Den Hartog explains. GMP+ International assesses each EWS notification, to find the source and cause of the problem e.g. contamination and, if it is necessary, alerts GMP+ FSA participants about the occurrence of a contamination in the market. This prevents contaminated material spreading in the market and contributes to reduce the size of a feed safety emergency. EWS also provides relevant information for risk assessment (at other certified companies) or contributes to future prevention. Companies that are involved with the EWS notification, have to inform their suppliers and customers, block unsafe batches, (also) investigate the cause and source of the contamination and take corrective measures. Publication of EWS warnings helps other individual companies to understand the occurrence of a concrete unsafe feed event in the market. So they can increase alertness regarding this specific risk and adjust their risk management. Den Hartog concludes: “It will make companies and the feed sector as a whole more resilient to cope with everyday challenges to deliver safe feed for safe food.” GMP+ International recently issued its ‘Annual Report Early Warning System 2013-2014’. GMP+ FSA certified companies are obliged to report unsafe situations or feed materials posing a threat to feed safety. Additionally, raised awareness of arising and known threats and risks will contribute to a more efficient exchange of information as well. So EWS gains an important role in feed safety management systems like GMP+ FSA, next to the three other main components: normative references, assurance and corrective action tools and the rules of certification.