World Grain - December 2020 - 59

the day to reduce the chance of bringing disease back to the mill. Having a
biosecurity kit in feed delivery trucks
helps reduce the risk of contamination.
This kit should contain disposable
plastic booties for whenever drivers
need to exit their trucks, disinfectant
to wipe or spray down their cabs, and
a method to dispose of these items.
In winter months, multiple sets of
rubber overshoes could be used instead
of the plastic booties, but each pair
would need to be disinfected after use.

Encouraging employees to follow
a biosecurity protocol starts with
management and is strengthened with
knowledge of why the plan matters.

ing bacteria and viruses in the feed but
do not prevent recontamination.
As a result, sharing equipment beWZHHQ ¿QLVKHG IHHG DQG UDZ LQJUHGLZONES IN THE MILL
ents should be avoided. When complete
Along with separating drivers from separation is not possible, equipment
the general mill, feed mill managers should be thoroughly disinfected before
should focus on ways to separate the ¿QLVKHGIHHGLVUXQWKURXJKLW
PLOOLQWRVSHFL¿F]RQHVDQGOLPLWHPDust and screenings are also known to
SOR\HHFURVVRYHUEHWZHHQ]RQHV7KLV contain higher levels of pathogens than
helps prevent employees from carry- the bulk of the ingredient load. These resing contaminants from their shoes or idues should be discarded instead of beclothing through the mill.
ing added back to ingredients or feed to
For instance, an employee may help prevent the accumulation of pathogens.
in receiving and carry contaminated
feed dust on their clothes as they walk EMPLOYEE TRAINING
through the mill to change a die in pel- Employees need to receive proper trainleting. That contamination is no longer ing for any biosecurity plan to succeed.
limited to the receiving area and now Ensuring that they are aware of the
FDQFRPHLQFRQWDFWZLWK¿QLVKHGIHHG mill's biosecurity plan, FSMA regula+DYLQJRQH]RQHGHVLJQDWHGIRUUH- tions, and pathogen mitigation and preceiving, another for mixing and pro- vention strategies helps to encourage
cessing, and another at load-out helps compliance.
to prevent this sort of cross-over by
Proper disinfecting procedures should
preventing employees from moving not be overlooked. Many disinfectants
between areas without going through require a certain amount of time in cona decontamination process.
tact with a surface in order to kill patho7KLV]RQLQJRIWKHPLOODOVRQHHGVWR gens.
cover tools and equipment that might
The presence of dust, grain, or other
be shared between areas. For this pro- PDWHULDOVFDQDOVROLPLWWKHH൵HFWLYHQHVV
FHVVWREHH൵HFWLYHHDFK]RQHQHHGVLWV of disinfectants. Adding procedures like
own set of tools, brooms, ladders, etc., truck washing or use of booties also will
to prevent these items from carrying require additional training for employcontamination through the mill as well. HHVWRLPSOHPHQWVDIHO\DQGH൵HFWLYHO\
All of this should be communicated
FEED HANDLING
to employees and biosecurity refreshIn addition to controlling the movement ers should be implemented at intervals
RISHRSOHSUHYHQWLQJ¿QLVKHGIHHGIURP throughout the year to keep the plan upcontacting surfaces that also handle raw to-date and fresh in employees' minds.
ingredients adds another layer of feed
security. Disease mitigation measures CULTURE
like heat treatment (pelleting or extru- The most important aspect of a mill
VLRQDUHH൵HFWLYHDWNLOOLQJRULQDFWLYDW- biosecurity plan is the culture of the
www.World-Grain.com / World Grain / December 2020

workplace. A strong employee culture
encourages everyone to implement the
procedures and follow them. If management does not take their policies
seriously, there is little incentive for
the rest of the employees to follow
the policies as well. Encouraging employees to follow a biosecurity protocol starts with management and is
strengthened with knowledge of why
the plan matters.
Feed safety is not something that has
LPPHGLDWH H൵HFWV ZLWKLQ WKH PLOO EXW
FRPHV ZLWK DGGHG H൵RUWV WR DFFRPplish. Therefore, it can be easy to overlook during day-to-day operations.
Introducing measures to prevent or
PLQLPL]HFRQWDPLQDWLRQDWWKHPLOOLV
vital to protecting livestock from outbreaks of domestic and foreign animal
diseases. Understanding the biosecurity practices of suppliers, movement
of people and equipment, feed contact
surfaces, and truck movement can
help develop a strong biosecurity culture in the mill and develop a successful biosecurity plan.
Developing and implementing a biosecurity plan at the mill can help proGXFHUV IHHO FRQ¿GHQW LQ WKH VDIHW\ RI
the feed they are receiving and promote
positive client-mill relationships.
Allison Blomme, a feed safety graduate student
at Kansas State University, is the lead author
of this article. Co-authors include KSU feed
safety team members Chad Paulk, Charles
Stark, Jordan Gebhardt, Cassie Jones and Jason
Woodworth. Questions or comments about
the article may be directed to Chad Paulk at
cpaulk@ksu.edu.
We want to hear from you - Send comments and
inquiries to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of
WG articles, email reprints@sosland.com.

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World Grain - December 2020

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