Effect of dietary inclusion of benzoic acid (VevoVitall®) on the microbial quality of liquid feed and the growth and carcass quality of grow-finisher pigs

• Published in: Livestock science 2020-07, Vol.237, p.104043, Article 104043
• Main Authors: O’ Meara, F.M., Gardiner, G.E., O’ Doherty, J.V., Lawlor, P.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dietary acidification; fattener; swine; wet feed
• ISSN: 1871-1413; 1878-0490
• DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104043

•Benzoic acid limited lactic acid bacteria growth in liquid feed for finisher pigs•The pH of liquid feed was stabilised with benzoic acid inclusion•Benzoic acid limited spontaneous fermentation in liquid feed for finisher pigs•Benzoic acid supplementation did not impact grow-finisher pig growth•Supplementation of benzoic acid to grow-finisher pigs did not impact carcass traits Benzoic acid has long been used as a food preservative due to its antibacterial and antifungal effects. Supplementation to pig diets has also been shown to inhibit microbial free amino acid degradation and to control yeast growth in fermented liquid feed. However, the effect of dietary inclusion of benzoic acid (BA) in fresh liquid feed for grow-finisher pigs on feed quality and the resultant effects on pig growth remain unclear. The objective of the current study was to compare four inclusion levels of BA (VevoVitall®) on feed microbial quality and on the growth performance of grow-finisher pigs. Two-hundred and sixteen pigs with a starting weight of 30.0kg (± 7.43 SD) were used in the experiment. The four dietary treatments were as follows: (1) Basal diet + 0kg/t BA (0kg/t BA), (2) Basal diet + 2.5kg/t BA (2.5kg/t BA), (3) Basal diet + 5kg/t BA (5kg/t BA), (4) Basal diet + 10kg/t BA (10kg/t BA). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts in the mixing tank were similar across treatments (P>0.05) but were lower in the troughs for the feed supplemented with 10kg/t BA than for all other treatments (P