Processed Animal Protein as One of the Elements of the Policy for Reducing GMOs in the Feeding of Livestock

The aim of this article is to present various conditions and aspects of the use of processed animal protein (PAP) in the feeding of livestock in the perspective of lifting the 20-year ban on its use in feed and determining its role in the policy of reducing GMOs. The study analyzes the current legal status, as well as new conditions and requirements at each production stage, with the management of processed animal protein based on the relevant Polish and EU legal acts. It also determines the scale of production and directions of the current PAP management, as well as the price conditions of its potential use in feed production. In the analysis, in addition to the literature on the subject, the authors used mainly source data from the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate, Statistics Poland, and the Ministry of Finance. The analysis of organizational and production conditions led to the conclusion that the main problem may be to maintain the so-called species purity in the production of PAP and feed with its use, followed by cross-feeding (PAP from poultry in pig feed and PAP from pigs in poultry feed), and severe consequences in the event of detecting irregularities. Moreover, a limiting factor may be the high price in relation to other protein feeds and consumer expectations that the animal products offered for sale were produced without the use of animal feed. The role and importance of processed animal protein approved for feeding in the balance of high-protein feed raw materials is likely to be small, but every possibility of using domestic protein sources should be encouraged and exploited to reduce the use of imported GM feed and improve protein self-sufficiency. However, a larger scale of domestic use of this very valuable source of protein may require administrative action by introducing indicative targets for the substitution of imported GM feed with domestic protein sources.