Pasta leftovers as animal feeds (PASLEFT)

Global consumption of food of animal origin is expected to increase over the coming decades, as is the production of animal feed to meet this demand. The challenge now is to achieve precision feeding for cleaner and more sustainable animal production. The global demand for alternative animal feeds has increased sharply in the recent past, also due to the constant increase and volatility of prices of traditional feeds. In Italy, the pasta sector is constantly growing and new supply chains have recently been developed to meet the emerging demand for innovative products made with new raw materials. As a result, the type and quantity of leftovers from pasta production are expected to increase, and their reuse as animal feed is a little-explored option, especially for feeding ruminants. The idea of the project is to evaluate the use of leftovers from the pasta industry as animal feed, particularly for dairy ruminants. The general objectives of the project are: - to investigate the type and quantity of supply chain leftovers generated by the pasta industry. Supply chain residues (i.e. products before pasta drying) based on both wheat and new raw materials will be studied; - to evaluate the chemical composition, in vitro fermentation kinetics, rumen degradability, and in vivo whole tract digestibility of different pasta industry residues; - to determine the milk yield and quality and the health status of lactating ruminants fed pasta by-products. The results will make it possible to assess the challenges and realistic opportunities associated with the use of pasta by-products and to identify the appropriate contexts for their use.