The quality of broiler feed is given citric acid with different storage period

Abstract

Problems that often arise in the feed are feed damage and low shelf life. The quality of feed raw materials and mixing of feed, as well as the composition of less precise feed ingredients, can increase the problem. Citric acid is one of the ingredients that can be added to preserve feed, the use of citric acid for preservation has been widely carried out on food ingredients for humans. The function of citric acid is not only as a natural preservative but also can improve feed quality. Citric acid has indeed been able to increase productivity, but its influence is expected to be even better. Feeds that can be stored for a long time without changing the quality of the feed are highly expected by farmers so that they can mix the feed when the available feed is sufficient. Mixing large amounts of feed can save energy and production costs and be able to anticipate the availability of highly fluctuating feed ingredients on the market. Citric acid is one of the organic acids which if added to broiler feed can be acidifier which is believed to increase livestock productivity. The research aims to improve shelf life and maintain the quality of broiler feed by adding citric acid at various levels. The research design used was a completely randomized design with 5 x 4 factorial patterns with two replications. The addition of citric acid and storage time significantly (p<0.005) on peroxidation numbers, but there was no interaction between the two. Physical tests show the addition of citric acid can reduce rancidity, mould growth and insect attack. It can be concluded that the addition of citric acid can maintain the quality of feed with low peroxidation numbers and can increase feed quality.