All ingredients in animal feed must carry a GMP+ (Good Manufacturing Practices) certificate: a quality assurance system focused primarily on product safety. The system also permits traceability in case something unexpectedly goes wrong in the chain.
Before a product can be certified, it must be included on the list of GMP+ accepted feed products, which is known as the FSP (Feed Support Product) list. For a product to be listed it must first be subjected to a risk analysis, which is then assessed by GMP+ International.
Some drinking water production residuals can, in principle, be used in animal feed (additives) – for example, lime, iron and fulvic acids. Naturally, these have to be submitted to the above certification procedure. In 2013, AquaMinerals, together with AquaSolid, successfully took lime pellets through the procedure. Later, Vitens did the same for fulvic acids recovered from groundwater treatment. Vitens has since received GMP+ certificates for both lime pellets and fulvic acids.
AquaMinerals sees opportunities in these applications for those of our participants that recover – or will recover – fulvic acids from surface water. That’s why we initiated a procedure last summer to have this substance included in the FSP list. With success: this week we received a positive confirmation from GMP+ International.
This does not yet mean that the fulvic acids are directly available with the GMP+ certificate. Only after agreements and/or intents-to-supply with clients are reached, will the products actually receive certification. Of course, we’re working hard on this right now!