Quality of Aqua feed is very much affected by quality of ingredients received and processing conditions during feed production. Ingredients variations are common problem for aqua feed production and it should be managed properly by setting up a quality control system so that consistent feed can be produced in every batch of production. Every feedmill should have feed ingredient standard and specifications that can be used in purchasing system and accepting or rejecting of an ingredient. Quality control system should start from sampling system and scheme to get representative samples and supported by proper laboratory. Quality monitoring system for incoming ingredients should be based on physical, chemical and biological measurement. Methods to detect deviation on quality and possible adulteration should be adopted especially for locally available ingredients in Asia. Several spot or quick test can be used to detect quality and adulteration for fish meal, rice bran, oil, animal by-products, phosphate source and corn co products as commonly used for feeding aqua. Future development on quality control system will move toward more sophisticated equipment and able to trace possible hazards in order to produce high quality and safe feed for human.
Keywords
AdulterationAnalysisFeed ingredientsQuality controlSamplingSpecificationSpot test