A feed ingredient certificate of analysis should cover the nutrient basics, moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, total ash and acid insoluble ash, plus the safety tests, mainly aflatoxin and salmonella. Add any test specific to the meal, such as urease activity for soybean meal or free gossypol for cottonseed meal.
Each result should come with its method, unit and the lot it covers. A certificate that lists numbers without methods or a lot number is weak evidence.
You do not need every test on every lot. Agree a core set for each lot, such as moisture, protein, acid insoluble ash, aflatoxin and salmonella, and a wider set, such as residues and heavy metals, at a stated frequency or for the first order.
Nutrient tests
- Moisture: affects storage and the as-is value of every other figure.
- Crude protein: state the method and whether as-is or dry matter.
- Crude fat or oil: shows whether the meal is solvent extracted or expeller cake.
- Crude fibre: a high figure often means extra hulls or husk.
- Total ash: total mineral content.
- Acid insoluble ash: the sand and silica figure. See what moisture and sand/silica limits apply to feed ingredients.
Safety tests
- Aflatoxin: B1 or total, especially for groundnut, cottonseed and maize-based ingredients.
- Salmonella: absent in a stated sample size. See how to check feed ingredients for salmonella and mould.
- Other mycotoxins where relevant, such as ochratoxin, zearalenone or fumonisins for cereal by-products.
- Pesticide residues against your market's limits.
- Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury.
- Dioxins and similar contaminants, where your market or customer requires them.
Meal-specific tests
- Soybean meal: urease activity, which shows whether the meal was heated enough, and sometimes protein solubility, which shows whether it was over-heated.
- Cottonseed meal: free gossypol.
- Rapeseed and mustard meal: glucosinolates.
- Rice bran meal: free fatty acids or rancidity indicators, if freshness matters.
- Soybean meal for non-GM buyers: a GMO screen.
- Any meal: screening for castor contamination if the plant handles castor.
Making the certificate count
A certificate from the plant's own lab is a useful daily check, but it is not independent. For contract compliance, ask for a test from an NABL-accredited lab on a sample drawn and sealed by someone independent of the seller. Check that the report shows the lab's accreditation, the sample details and the lot number.
Confirm the report is genuine with the lab when in doubt, as explained in how to know a lab report is genuine and not borrowed. Keep a counter-sample from every lot until the goods are used.
How Creston & Co handles this
We draw and seal lot samples at the plant, send them to an NABL-accredited lab with your test list, and give you the original report before loading. Ask for a free sourcing review.