Page 10 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Give piglets the iron they need without the heavy metals they don’t
MOST producers under- stand iron is an essential nutrient for all livestock, vital for producing the proteins that enable red blood cells to carry oxy- gen around the body and facilitate normal growth.
Yet piglets in particular are commonly born with low iron reserves.
That’s why it’s become standard global practice to inject piglets with doses of up to 200mg of supple- mentary iron to prevent anaemia, particularly in the first 60 days of life when their body weight should increase tenfold.
However, in doing so, producers bear an impor- tant responsibility.
Ultimately they’re not just breeding pigs, but preparing a food product
for human consumption. That’s why it’s impor- tant for producers to real- ise impurities in injectable iron products are a serious concern for the agricultur-
al industry.
An independent study,
published in the Journal of Swine Health and Pro- duction in 2018, analysed 16 injectable iron products from around the world, testing them in particular for heavy metal impurity levels including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, co- balt, lead and mercury.
In 15 of these products, the levels of arsenic, chro- mium and/or lead exceed- ed the permitted daily ex- posure limits for humans.
The study concluded that arsenic, chromium and lead could inadvert-
ently be administered to pigs receiving iron injec- tions.
Though the effects of these heavy metals in hu- mans is well known, the effects in young pigs is yet to be determined.
Choose a heavy metal- free injectable iron prod- uct for your piglets
One product tested ‘clean’ in terms of levels of chromium, lead and arsenic below Permitted Daily Exposure limits.
That product is Uniferon (Abbey Animal Health), which contains 200mg/ml of iron.
Uniferon is manufac- tured without the use of organic solvent or cya- nide, avoiding trace resi- dues of heavy metal im- purities.
It’s the one brand of injectable iron that met human pharmaceutical standards.
The quality of injectable products depends on the steps taken to avoid and remove impurities that may be introduced during manufacture.
The 2018 tests demon- strate the way in which Uniferon is manufactured makes this goal achiev- able.
The tests provide reas- surance that producers can administer quality iron without the risk of heavy metal impurities.
Heavy metals don’t be- long in iron products
Balancing animal health
and welfare while meet- ing food standards is par- amount.
Producers and veterinar- ians need to be aware that heavy metals simply don’t belong in these products and don’t need to be there.
Consumer expectations are also driving retailer and producer behaviours.
Consumer trends to- wards eating animal prod- ucts that are minimally processed – such as the ‘clean eating’ movement – place more responsibility on the shoulders of in- jectable iron manufactur- ers and producers to meet these expectations.
Not only should the product consistently de- liver the correct amount of iron, it shouldn’t be contaminated with heavy metal impurities.
Put simply, to maintain the health and profitabil- ity of its animals, the in- dustry needs ‘clean’ in- jectable iron products.
The potential for iron products to deliver elevat- ed levels of heavy met- als to very young piglets is a concern... especially when there is no need to compromise.
Pig producers can now make an educated choice by choosing ‘clean’ iron to safely and effectively prevent iron deficiency and anaemia within their litters.
Visit abbeylabs.com.au or phone 0455 520 845 for more information.
Now you can give your pigs an iron treatment without the nasty heavy metals
C
ng the right iron can make a di erence
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200mg/mL IRON DEXTRAN INJECTION
JUST GOOD CLEAN IRON
Ask your supplier for clean iron
or for more information call Shaun Megson on 0455 520 845
DISTRIBUTED BY: ABBEY ANIMAL HEALTH PTY LTD, 16 VOYAGER CIRCUIT, GLENDENNING NSW 2761. INFOLINE: 02 8088 0720. www.abbeylabs.com.au Reference: 1. Radke SL, Olsen CW, Ensley SM. Elemental impurities in injectable iron products for swine. J Swine Health Prod 2018; 26(3):142-145. Uniferon® is a registered trademark of Pharmacosmos Holding A/S
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HEAVY METAL FREE
Take-home message
for removing in-feed antimicrobial medication: all-in all-out pig flows rule
☛ from P9
tives, overnight tem- peratures and air qual- ity all change.
For weaners, feed- ers, drinkers, room temperature and air quality were the core elements affecting performance in this study.
Dr Pollock’s experi- ence showed remov- ing feed medications might affect mortality rate, but might not too.
“You can only know by having systems that measure weights (weaning and later weights) and their var- iation together with mortality rate and in- dividual treatments by batch and over time,” Dr Pollock said.
“In relation to spe- cific disease chal- lenge, brachyspira (growing pig scours) is not your friend in a low antimicrobial use environment, but then neither is poor man- agement in a high or low-use environment.”
And again, she high- lighted the value of all-in all-out pig flow.
“Can anything be done to make it AIAO?” Dr Pollock said.
“This is likely to have a bigger impact than anything else.”
For a copy of Dr Pol- lock’s APV paper, talk to your veterinarian.
It is available as a PDF.
Page 10 – Australian Pork Newspaper, October 2019
www.porknews.com.au