Simple & Rapid Tests for the Quality of Animal Feeds

Consumers have become more conscious of the quality - including taste nutritional value andintegrity - of what they eat. Their palates have evolved to include such specialized fare as grass- fed beef and free-range chicken. The quality and taste of the meats that we consume are based onseveral factors including the animal's diet environment and breeding. Although there are well- established laboratory tests for multiple nutritional parameters as there are now relatively simplefield tests to detect some pathogens there are presently no simple ways for animal producers tofield test feed for freshness and quality. Here we propose the development of a rapid test panelto quantify the freshness of animal feed. The proposed initial panel utilizes two solid phasechemical assays that were initially developed and patented by our company for evaluating humanhealth namely the 2-Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) and CUPric ReducingAntioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) assays.We propose to modify and optimize these reactionsfor the determination of the rancidity and antioxidant content of a food samples. The goal of thisproject is to create a fast easy-to-use and moderately priced test that determines the freshness ofanimal feed.We foresee our test being used by the poultry and livestock husbandry industriesand by discerning consumers who demand top-quality pet food for their animal companions.Inthe long term we envision expanding this product line to include additional rapid tests for otherparameters of food quality such as protein and fat content.