Finally a government study (USDA and ARS Agricultural Research Service) that helps reduce the livestock industry's dependence on antibiotics! Part of this study goes back to 1924 when the anti-microbial properties of citrus oils were studied,and more recently finding ways to use citrus wastes (peels and pulp,mainly from orange juice production) as animal feed. The citrus peels contain d-limonene,a toxin to pigs and poultry but fine to feed cattle and other ruminants. Oh,did I mention that the cows like the peels? The animals tested for Salmonella and E.coli after eating the orange peel pellets showed a 10 fold reduction of those pathogens. Sounds like good news for once,but I wonder how much pesticide residue remains of the peels? With any luck it will be extremely low.
No comments:
Post a Comment