Volume 1: Findings and Conclusions
2. Setting the context
The animal feed industry

141 In the 1980s animal feed was made up of a mixture of various constituents, primarily cereals and cereal by-products, as well as oilseed meals, MBM and other protein concentrates, fats, molasses, vitamins, minerals and, in some cases, small amounts of medicinal additives. Feed manufacturers produced both ready-to-use compound feeds and protein concentrates which farmers could use if they preferred to mix their own feed on the farm.

142 In the early 1980s there were about 400 feed companies, although this number was in decline. The five largest companies dominated the market, producing 54 per cent of the UK feed output between them, while farmer co-operatives and smaller local and regional compounders produced the rest.

143 Feedmills produced many different kinds of feeds for different animals. The nutritional composition of the feeds was determined according to the specific requirements of each species, and then the particular ingredients that would meet these requirements were chosen on the basis of cost-efficiency. Medicinal additives and growth stimulants were added when appropriate on a species-specific basis. Some species-specific feeds were potentially dangerous to other species. Most feedmills produced these different feeds in the same equipment. There were several points in the manufacturing process where material could build up on or in machinery and cause cross-contamination in the next batch. The UK Agricultural Supply Trade Association (UKASTA) drew up a Code of Practice to try to minimise cross-contamination of feedstuffs during the production process.