WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY IN ANIMAL FEED?

The term biotechnology was coined in 1917 by a Hungarian Engineer, Karl Ereky, to discribe a process for large scale production of pigs.  According to him all types of work are biotechnology by wich products are produced from raw materials using living organisms.  During the end of 20th century biotechnology emerged as a new discipline of biology integrating with technology; but the route of biotechnology lies in biology.  There was no sudden sprout of this discipline, but some of the methods for productions products were developed centuries back.  Therefore, biotechnology is concerned with exploitation of biological components for production of useful products.

Biotechnology is difined “the development and utilization of biological processes, forms and systems for obtaining maximum benefits to man and other forms of life”.  Following are some of the definitions given by other organisation:

·         Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to provide goods and service.

·         The integrated use of biochemistry, microbiology and engineering sciences in order to achieve technological application of the capabilities of microorganism, cultured tissue, cell and parts their of.

·         The application of biochemistry, biology, microbiology and chemical engineering to industrial process and products and environment.

·         Biotechnology is the “controlled use of biological agents such as  microorganisms or cellular components for beneficial use”

The application of fermentation biotechnology in general and feed technology in particular, requires integrated knowledge between biology, chemistry, and technology to be able to carry out the design, operation, analysis, and optimization of bioprocess. Integrating these principles to achieve success requires time-consuming studies and experiments. But it must be realized, that even if success is slow, it will never be achieved or succeed if it is not started. In addition, knowledge of feed ingredients and the nutritional content of a feed ingredient will greatly support the success of the feed technology, if applied to the development of science and society.

Improved feed technology is one of the ways that must be taken, because in a farm, the component cost of feed is the largest component that must be spent by farmers. Moreover, the type of form of feeding especially those given to monogastric animals shows that the ration prepared for livestock is corn-based and soybean meal, where we still import the feed from abroad. Some food ingredients have the potential to be developed in terms of their availability, but sometimes a limiting factor is found in their use. Feed technology includes feed processing activities aimed at improving the quality of nutrients, increasing shelf life, and digestibility.