Food safety and quality are critical issues that should be given more attention all over the world mainly from nutritional quality and human health point of view. Food safety is a scientific field of study which deals with handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food borne illness. Food safety system is often categorized into two, namely traditional and science-based systems. Food can be used as a source of disease transmission from one person to another; it also serves as a nutrient growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning, and hazardous agent for consumers’ health. Factors which can be a source of potential hazards in foods include traditional milk production accompanied with improper agricultural practices and poor hygienic environment at all stages of the food chain. Quality assurance is mandatory before the milk is consumed. It is achieved up on planned and systematic activities performed in each steps of the quality system. Milk and milk products contaminants are classified into two, namely, infectious and non-infectious agents. Food-borne illnesses are generally infectious or toxic in nature and caused by major infectious diseases such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances getting access to enter into the body through contaminated food or water. Milk and milk products heading for export to global market need to pass through the strictest quality standards. Hazard analysis and critical control point system (HACCP) requires a critical examination through every step of food manufacturing process to determine the possibility of having physical, chemical, or microbiological contamination. To achieve this, it is necessary to control the quality of milk at the grass root level. Key words: Milk, contamination, food safety, quality control.

The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of seasonality on feed balance in the Lalo kile district of the Kellem Wollega Zone of Western Ethiopia. The district was divided into two agro-ecological zones: mid and low altitude. A total of 127 respondents were chosen to be interviewed. To collect the required data in the study areas, a cross-sectional survey was used. To analyses the qualitative data, descriptive statistics were performed, while the General Linear Model (GLM) method was used to assess the impacts of seasonal feed availability and agro-ecology on dry matter yield and production constraints. The result showed that there has been seasonal fluctuation in the feed availability and the feed is generally abundant from June to September. The feed supply in terms of DM, ME, and DCP per household per year was 118.7 kg, 74,781 MJ/kg, and 118.61kg, respectively. The feed balance was negatively associated and substantially different all across the studied areas (P < 0.01). With a year's approach, the annual total feed supply exceeds only 66.13, 25.81, and 87.24 percent of the DM, DCP, and ME demands per household, respectively. As a result, total dry matter production, digestible crude protein, and metabolizable energy supply were only fulfilled for 9, 3.5, and 12 months in the research area's mid-altitude and 7, 3 and 9 months in the study area's low land altitude, respectively. The main limitations in both agro-ecologies of the research area include low production and reproduction, poor use of existing feedstuffs, and poor adoption of improved forage production. As a result, for successful livestock development in the study area, the adoption of better fodder and supplementation of productive animals should be considered.

This article aims to uncover the current knowledge on using bioconverted agricultural byproducts in the chicken diet and the impact of these byproducts on performance, product quality, and health status. Agricultural and agro-industrial activities generate thousands of tons of byproducts. Converting these agricultural byproducts into valuable entities would be an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and viable part of byproduct management. Upon recycling to make new products, the process contributes to socio-economic value and maintaining environmental health and paves the way for realizing energy security and a circular economy. The current paper identifies that solid-state fermentation has attracted more research attention than other fermentation counterparts because it requires minimal moisture, good oxygen availability, cheap media, low wastewater generation, low cost, a low processing scheme, low energy demand, and high productivity. This paper illustrates the role of proteolytic and lignin-degrading enzymes present in bacteria and fungi in the bioconversion process of complex polymers into smaller molecules of amino acids and simple sugar with a profound improvement in the palatability and bioavailability of agricultural products. In addition, the paper gives more detailed insights into using bioconverted agricultural products in chickens to improve performance, product quality, gut microbiota and morphology, and chicken welfare. In conclusion, the bioconversion of agricultural byproducts is an encouraging endeavor that should be supported by governments, research centers, universities, and non-governmental entities to improve the productivity of animal source foods by ensuring environmental sustainability and expanding food security efforts for national development.

This study aimed to assess the available livestock feed resources in the Lalo kile district of Kellem Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia, in terms of species biomass composition and dry matter yield of dominant forage species. The district was stratified into two agro-ecologies: mid-altitude areas and low-altitude areas. The effects of grazing intensity on dry matter yields and biomass composition were analyzed using a randomized complete block design replicated three times having two blocks differed by two agro-ecologies (three mid-altitude kebeles and three low-altitude kebeles). The present study used seventy-two pasture samples and 20 × 20 m forage trees collected randomly from the two agro-ecologies of the study area. The General Linear Model of the SAS 19.0 version was used to compare the effects of the agro-ecology and species on dry matter yield and biomass composition. The result of the study indicated that the average dry matter yield for grasses, legumes, and other herbaceous forages was 1.156 t/ha, 0.242 t/ha, and 0.182 t/ha, with an overall 1.58 t/ha in the study district, respectively. About 73.13% of grasses, 15.32% of legumes, and 11.55% of other herbaceous were the species biomass composition in the study area. The midland agroecology had the average biomass fodder yields 7.98–19.78 kg/tree and 1.06–2.41 kg/shrub while lowland agroecology had 9.87–178.06 kg/tree and 1.34–3.87 kg/shrub. There was an estimate of 74.36–100 kg/ha fodder shrubs and 500–800 kg/ha fodder trees on cultivated and uncultivated land in the study area. The herbage yield of natural pasture is 1.733 t DMha⁻¹ in the mid and 1.427 t DMha⁻¹ in the low altitudes of the study area, with a mean herbage yield of 1.58 t DMha⁻¹ during vegetation cover. The grazing capacity of the study area was 0.23 TLU/ha/year in the mid and 0.19 TLU/ha/year in the low altitudes of the study area, with a mean value of 0.21 TLU ha/year. The presence of limited grazing land in the study area led to overgrazing, which in turn resulted occurrence of land degradation associated with poor biomass yield, low quality and variable supply of feeds between the season. Therefore, this study suggests setting up land-use regulation policy to allocate separate land for feed production and commonly use for livestock feeding to improve livestock productivity and contribute to food security and poverty alleviation of small holder farmers in the study area.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the supplemental effect of rosemary leaf meal (RLM) on egg production and egg quality in Lohmann-Brown laying hens. For each treatment, six replicates were performed with four 24-week-old laying hens for a total of 96 chickens. Dried rosemary leaf meal (RLM) was present in the commercial laying hen ration at 0, 1.7, 3.5 and 5.2%, respectively. The interactions between dietary treatments, egg storage temperatures (4 °C, 21.5 °C), and egg storage durations (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days) were examined in factorial designs using a fully randomized design. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 2014, Ver. 9.3) and Tukey's multiple range tests to separate the means. The inclusion of dried RLM at a level of 5.2% (p < 0.05) significantly improved the hens' daily egg production (78.9%). Feed conversion ratio (2.25) and egg weight (56.7 g) compared to control treatment. Similarly, at 3.5% and 5.2% RLM supplementation, eggshell weight (5.876 g) and eggshell strength increased significantly (p < 0.05) (compared to control, a weight of 3.76 kg/cm2 and a shell thickness (0.37 mm) was observed. In addition, the groups fed 5.2% RLM had significantly higher albumin weight (34.9 g/L), albumin height (6.9 mm), and yolk weight (15.6 g/L). l), yolk height (15.9 mm), yolk color (5.3 points), and Hough unit (83.9 points) than the control groups. Regarding the external characteristics of stored eggs, a group of hens fed at rates of 3.5 and 5.2% RLM showed significantly greater (p < 0.05) egg weight with increases in storage temperature and duration as a control group. There was a significant interaction effect between stored eggs collected from the supplemented groups in terms of egg weight, weight loss, shell weight, shell strength, and shell thickness stored at specific temperatures and storage durations. There was a decrease in albumen level and Haugh unit (HU) with an increase in storage temperature and duration over treatment (P < 0.05). Therefore, better external quality was observed in eggs collected from a group of chickens fed 4.5 and 5.2% RLM after 35 days of storage compared to a control group. Mean albumen height, albumen weight, HU, yolk height, and yolk color of eggs stored in the refrigerator (4 °C) were an exception for yolk weight, which was higher compared to room temperature (21.5 °C). Significantly low (P < 0.05) albumen height (6.61 to 2.96 cm), Hough unit (82.49 to 47.64 points), and yolk height (14.66 to 12.35 mm) were observed at 35 days storage recorded in the control group. In conclusion, supplementation with RLM at 3.5% and 5.2% improved the performance and quality of both fresh and stored eggs.