Nicola Carnielli on Sustainable Feed Labeling with WinOpti

As sustainability reshapes agriculture, transparent feed labeling is more important than ever. New European regulations enhance how feed producers report environmental impact, giving farmers better insights into sustainable nutrition.

Nicola Carnielli, Business Analyst at AgroVision, explains these changes. He also shows how WinOpti helps feed producers comply while delivering clear, data-driven environmental insights. Let’s dive into the key updates and see how WinOpti simplifies sustainable feed labeling.

In recent years, the agriculture sector has increasingly focused on sustainability, particularly in the production and consumption of animal feed. As consumers become more aware of the environmental impact of their food choices, transparent and informative feed labeling has emerged as a crucial component of sustainable practices in animal husbandry.

What is feed labeling?

Feed labeling serves as a communication tool that provides essential information about the nutritional content, ingredients, and environmental impact of animal feed products. Accurate and clear labels help farmers make informed decisions, ensuring that livestock receive the right nutrients for optimal health and productivity.

The ‘New’ Code

The key word in the above introduction is ‘environmental impact’, since this topic is gaining more relevance thanks to a recent update in the Feed Labelling Legislation on a European level.

The full and detailed document titled ‘Code of Good labelling practices for compound feed for food producing animals’, version 1.2, 02/12/24 can be found here.

The updated code includes detailed guidelines for communicating the environmental performance of animal feed to farmers, addressing key impact areas such as climate change, eutrophication, and livestock emissions abatement techniques. The enhanced Code supports the feed sector’s efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.

Thanks to the FEFANA’s support, the Code also provides clear recommendations for environmental claims for compound feed, especially in relation to livestock emissions abatement techniques. More specifically, it ensures that feed producers can transparently report on the environmental impact of their products. By including information on 16 environmental impact categories, including water use and biodiversity, it addresses the need for accurate reporting to meet Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions requirements.

Key Components of Feed Labels

When we look at a feed label the key figures that must be underlined are:

1. Ingredients: labels should clearly list all ingredients in the feed, allowing farmers to understand what they are feeding their animals, to make choices aligned with specific dietary requirements or preferences.
2. Nutrients: the nutritional profile must be reported, like proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
3. Environmental Impact: the new point made in the documentation is related to reporting information related to sustainability, including the environmental footprint of the feed.

Here is an example of how the new labels, for a compound feed, will look like. The first picture is before the new rules, if you swipe to the right you will see the new rules. As you can see the environmental footprint is a new key component of the new label.

Be aware that the level of details can change according to the type of feed you are producing (e.g., compound feed vs. mineral feed – more details in the document).

How to manage feed labelling in WinOpti?

Any activity, especially human activity, is followed by an environmental impact. WinOpti carries for the activity of feed production, a feature inspired by The Global Feed LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) Institute:  http://globalfeedlca.org/

You can do this by following the steps:

1. Set-up the GFLI impact
2. Set-up the GFLI component
3. Link the raw material to the GFLI references
4. Test with a recipe
5. Once everything is settled, you can also print out a detailed report

This report outlines the composition of the feed and the corresponding GFLI components.

However, with the flexibility of WinOpti and the assistance of the C1 report, it is possible to generate a new label that includes this information.

Conclusion

Clear and effective feed labeling goes beyond mere regulatory requirements; it empowers farmers to make choices that support both their livestock and the environment.

The revised code marks a significant advancement in the journey toward sustainable feed and livestock production by keeping an eye on reducing emissions.