By Prof. Bernard-Marie Paragon

To have a final good food product for the consumers, it is necessary to start with as good as possible initial products and that includes the feeds provided to the animals on the farm. The press has given particular attention to the food crises of the past few years - mad cow disease, dioxins, avian influenza - and consumers have become more sensitive to questions about food safety. This has created problems for all production chains providing foods for humans. The agricultural industry has always been aware of the importance of food safety but it has taken on a new dimension because no one is willing to accept any risk at all. If there is an incident, consumers turn against the producer. In the minds of consumers there should be zero risk but that is not a reality.

Today, traceability permits rapid tracing of the origins of products. It means that the producers of feed and food can be held responsible in final of a food safety incident. Farmers are well aware of this risk and are attentive to the management of the quality of their feeds and to quality and hygiene in animal production.

The quality of the feed given to animals can have a direct influence on the health of consumers. The animals can be a filter but they also can be a source of dissemination of a problem. Ensuring good quality feeds is provided to animals is the first and an essential step in securing the food chain to the consumer.

Given the technical approach to farming today, and the information available to farmers, farmers are well able to prepare feed products correctly, using forages and other ingredients. It is clear there is no better nutrition for cows than grass, whichever way it is conserved. However, each time the conservation process is carried out, if it is not done properly it introduces a risk. Information on baling silage is easily available so there is no reason for it to be done badly.

With baled silage, if a bale is damaged it is only one bale that is lost and not the entire fodder stock, as with a silage clamp. There is no production without risk, but baling silage allows the farmer to limit the risk to a minimum. On opening the bale the farmer can see immediately if it is good and any bales that have gone off can be eliminated straightaway.

Prof. Bernard-Marie Paragon is Professor of Nutrition at the Alfort National Veterinary School (Paris, France), and expert for the French Agency for Food Sanitary Safety (l'Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, AFSSA).

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