HERENTALS, BELGIUM — Global ingredient manufacturer Kemin Industries recently conducted several life cycle assessments (LCAs) for a suite of its animal feed additives. According to the company, it is the first feed additive producer to launch qualifying LCAs that meet the standards of the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI). 

LCAs evaluate the environmental impacts of the life cycle stages of a commercial product, process or service. By providing manufacturers, suppliers, customers and others with knowledge on how feed additives impact the environment, LCAs can be an essential tool for helping the animal feed industry become more sustainable.

“As a provider of key ingredients, we dedicate our time to exploring ways to make safer, more sustainable products that serve the changing needs of our world,” said Stefaan Van Dyck, Ph.D., group president of Animal Nutrition and Health at Kemin Industries, and chairman of the board for GFLI. “At Kemin, our curiosity motivates us to play a role in solving current challenges, and our commitment to sustainability helps us transform today into a better tomorrow.”

Kemin Industries’ Animal Nutrition and Health – EMENA (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) business unit conducted LCAs for its various animal feed additives, including: KESSENT® MF Liquid, KESSENT® MF Dry, KESSENT® ME, LysiGEM™, KEM WET™ AMP Liquid, Sal CURB® BR Liquid, SAL CURB® BR Dry and Myco CURB® ES Liquid. 

To create the LCAs, Kemin partnered with GFLI’s branded pilot program, through which the company represented the first participant. GFLI’s branded pilot introduced the use of branded data, feeding into its database of more than 1,800 LCA datasets for major feed ingredients throughout the globe. 

“The GFLI-branded data pilot was launched to consider a harmonized methodology for inclusion of company-specific LCA values for key feed ingredients and cater to the upcoming regulations and needs of feed companies for high-quality, primary-sourced data,” said Laura Nobel, manager of GFLI. “The challenge seems to be determining what types of ingredients are in scope.

“Feed additives have quite some challenges, which makes Kemin’s efforts to comply with our rigorous methodology essential for test casing and further discussions on how to improve,” Nobel added. “Kemin’s commitment is also evident in the company’s participation in the GFLI working groups and contribution to discussions within the Institute to set GFLI as the world’s reference in feed ingredients’ LCAs.”

According to Kemin, these branded LCAs represent the first of many the company plans to conduct in its commitment to sustainability. 

“Branded, feed-additive LCAs are a significant achievement for Kemin and GFLI,” Van Dyck said. “As an active member of the organization, Kemin contributes to a global database, which ensures stakeholders can make sustainable decisions. The GFLI database, comprised of specific, branded LCAs, marks a new stage of validated knowledge on feed additives’ sustainability so the industry can progress with validated assessments of the environmental impact of improved feed formulations.”

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