Tested Hygiene

Biosecurity is a key factor in protecting animal health and ensuring the future viability of agricultural businesses. But how effective are stable disinfectants, hygiene bedding and hoof care and hoof hygiene products in practice?

In this interview, Dr Frank Volz, Test engineer in the field of Farm Inputs at the DLG Test Center in Groß-Umstadt, explains what matters when products are independently tested, how the DLG monitors the quality of individual product batches and why the DLG QUALITY SEAL provides guidance and reliability for farmers and manufacturers alike.

DLG: Dr Volz, biosecurity is a major issue in animal husbandry. What exactly does it mean?

Dr Frank Volz: Biosecurity is a collective term for all measures designed to prevent diseases, infections or similar incidents. In a narrower sense, the term is very often used in connection with notifiable diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, bluetongue disease, African swine fever or avian influenza.

This includes a wide range of measures, from protective fences separating areas affected by African swine fever from areas that are not affected, to very specific procedures on farms. How do I enter a farm and leave it again if I am in a restricted zone? This is currently a major focus of our work, as there are indeed indications that we may be facing another outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Biocidal products do not distinguish between viruses. If a product has a virucidal effect, it makes no difference which virus it encounters. It acts against all of them.

Frank Volz on how biocidal products work

 

What role do farm inputs such as stable disinfectants, hygiene bedding and hoof care and hoof hygiene products play in this context?

A very specific role. In poultry and pig farming, disinfecting the stable between production cycles is standard practice: first clean, then disinfect, allow the stable to dry and only then restock it.

In cattle farming, the focus is more on preventing anything from being carried into or out of the farm. This includes cleaning rubber boots, using overshoes and reducing hoof diseases. Hoof baths and similar products are used for precisely this purpose.

Bedding powders, which are often lime-based products, also have a sanitising effect because they make the conditions less favourable for pathogens to multiply. Biocidal products do not distinguish between different viruses. If a product has a virucidal effect, it is irrelevant which viruses are active in its surroundings. The product acts against all of them.

What exactly does the DLG test when manufacturers submit a hygiene product for testing?

First and foremost, we assess efficacy. This was already the case in 1885, when Professor Schulz-Lupitz warned quarry owners against selling waste rock as mineral fertiliser. From the very beginning, the DLG has never awarded a DLG QUALITY SEAL to products that do not work.

The next aspect is animal compatibility. Wherever there is skin contact, we also test skin compatibility, including on live animals at our practical test farms. For example, when testing udder hygiene products, we treat one quarter of the udder with the product under review and use the adjacent quarter as a control.

We also test material compatibility. After all, what is the benefit of the most effective hygiene bedding if the stable partitions have to be replaced every three years because they have rusted through?

For this purpose, we carry out immersion tests. Test specimens made of stainless steel, galvanised steel, rubber or polycarbonate are immersed in the ready-to-use solution for several hours. They are then rinsed and weighed on an analytical balance to the fourth decimal place. Any increase or decrease in weight shows us precisely how the product affects the material.

What is the benefit of the most effective hygiene bedding if the stable partitions have to be replaced every three years because they have rusted through?

Frank Volz on the importance of material compatibility testing
 

How does the DLG ensure that a product’s quality remains consistent after the initial award of the DLG QUALITY SEAL?

This is ensured by annual monitoring tests. Their scope is reduced, but they are sufficient to verify that different batches consistently have the same quality.

If a manufacturer fails to meet the criteria for two consecutive years, the DLG QUALITY SEAL is withdrawn. A new test is possible, but in that case the complete and comprehensive award test must be carried out again from the beginning.

This keeps quality standards high and also describes the actual benefit for farmers. If the product they need carries the DLG QUALITY SEAL, they can be confident that they are only spending money on a product that is effective, safe for their animals and compatible with the materials used in their stable equipment.

Ultimately, it is about credibility and reliability through neutral and independent product testing.

Frank Volz on the core value of the DLG QUALITY SEAL

What is ultimately the decisive argument for DLG testing, for manufacturers and farmers alike?

It is about credibility and reliability through neutral and independent product testing. The manufacturer receives neutral confirmation of the quality of its product. The farmer, in turn, can be confident that they can rely on the product they purchase.

This benefits both sides, and it has been our aspiration since 1885.