28 July, 2006: PARIS, FRANCE - New BASF certification improves reliability for customers. The BASF intermediates formic acid, propionic acid and their mixtures now come with a certificate according to the new “European Feed Additives and Premixtures Quality System” (FAMI-QS) standard. This makes BASF one of the first companies to apply new standards to quality controls for feed additives. Until recently, there were no harmonized EU standards for feed additives. By adhering to the FAMI-QS rules, the company voluntarily guarantees compliance with a code of practice that includes precise product traceability, for example.
Propionic acid is used as a food and feed preservative, for making vitamin E and in a variety of chemical applications. Formic acid helps to keep certain feeds fresh and free of salmonellae, removes paints and rust from metallic surfaces as well as scale from kettles and boilers. In breweries and wineries it disinfects kegs, casks and barrels; applied as an auxiliary in the pharmaceutical and crop protection industry it regulates pH values; in cleaning it acts as dirt remover and disinfectant. BASF is one of the world’s leading producers of propionic and formic acid, with production plants at its integrated Verbund sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Nanjing, China.
FAMI-QS certification was introduced at the initiative of a group of leading feed additive manufacturers. It represents a new quality system that guarantees EU-wide standards for all feed additives. The new EU hygiene regulation has been in force since January 2006: It also applies to animal feed, requiring it to be in perfect condition. By submitting to the FAMI-QS standards, dedicated companies take another step forward and voluntarily undertake to guarantee further feed safety measures. The centerpiece of the quality system is precise product traceability – from the filling station to distribution to the customer. All internal and external logistical processes, like the filling of products into tank trucks or internal product storage within BASF, are minutely monitored and recorded. FAMI-QS also covers aspects of product safety, health and safety at work as well as environmental protection.
BASF
The operating division Intermediates of the BASF Group develops, produces and markets the world's largest range of intermediates. The most important of the division's more than 600 products include amines, diols, polyalcohols and acids. Among other applications, intermediates are used as starting materials for coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textile fibers, detergents and crop protection agents. Innovative BASF intermediates help to improve the properties of the final product and the efficiency of production processes. The ISO 9001:2000-certified operating division Intermediates has access to plants at production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In 2005, this BASF operating division with 2,665 employees generated world sales of above 2 billion euros.
