Broilers are nearing their genetic potential and nutritional strategies are the primary means to improve their performance. Improving raw material quality, especially soybean meal, could improve broiler performance, health and welfare. Inadequate processing of soybean meal leads to high residual anti-nutritional factors (ANF) which has a negative influence on broiler performance. High trypsin inhibitor content in low- quality soybean meal causes decreased protein digestion and absorption. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the optimal quality of soybean meal for commercial use to promote performance and welfare parameters of broiler chickens. Ten dietary treatments were formulated to the same nutritional specifications, but with different soybean meals that ranged from very high-quality (Treatment 1) to the lowest quality (Treatment 10). The quality of soybean meal was determined using Table 2.1 as target values for each soybean meal quality parameter. Soybean meal quality was evaluated using urease levels (pH change), TIA (trypsin inhibitor activity), Evonik TIA, KOH (potassium hydroxide solubility), Evonik KOH, Evonik PDI (protein dispersibility index) and Evonik PCI (processing conditions indicator). The treatment diets were fed to 4800 broilers that were randomly allocated to 80 pens, each with 60 birds and eight replicates. Over a 35-day growth trial, broiler performance, welfare and physiological traits were measured on a weekly basis. Overall, improved performance was observed with higher-quality soybean meal outperforming the lower-quality soybean meal. High-quality soybean meal showed significantly better feed conversion ratio’s (FCR) and European performance efficiency factor (PEF) throughout the 35-day period, and significantly higher average daily gain (ADG) up until day 21. Bodyweight (BW), feed intake (FI) and mortality showed no significant differences irrespective of soybean meal quality. No significant differences were found in physiological traits namely: pancreas weight as a percentage of bodyweight, pancreas length to bodyweight ratio, gizzard and proventriculus weight as a percentage of bodyweight and gizzard erosion score, (PW%BW, PL:BW, GPV%BW, GE score) irrespective of soybean meal quality. High quality soybean meal showed lower incidence and lower severity of rapid feed passage (RFP) and foot pad dermatitis (FPD). Evonik PCI and urease levels (pH change) showed the strongest correlation to broiler performance, health and welfare. This study suggests using soybean meal with the following quality parameters: urease levels of around 0.05, TIA levels of below 4mg/g, KOH levels of 78-80%, PDI levels of around 15 and PCI levels of around 11. The Evonik PCI and urease (pH change) analyses for soybean meal quality was found to be the easiest and cheapest method and can be recommended as the primary quality assays for commercial feed companies in the future. / Dissertation (BSc (Agric) Animal Science)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / AFGRI / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / BSc (Agric) Animal Science / Restricted

The quality of meals is included in the constant improvement of each preschool. The study is carried out on behalf of the City of Malmö and Environmental Management and focuses on this quality work. By compiling a checklist of meal quality and by identifying what the meal quality means for persons working with the meal (managers, cooks, educators and parents), it is our wish that this will be a help in their quality work.   To inspire the composition various organizations working methods and ways to manage, evaluate and make use of different models and tools to improve the dining quality, has been studied.   In the literature, the work has received confirmation of theories that emerged during the analysis work of what a meal is and how quality can be measured. The results show that food quality is described as a complex concept consisting of different parts, where the food, atmosphere, service, together form the meal quality. The semi-structured interviews and the inquiry form, have given an indication of the preschool work with quality in the meal activities and it shows that on a wide range and large differences. When various occupational groups were asked, what ”meal quality” means, the responses are consistent to the food, that it was good, appetizing, organic or where locally produced.   It turned out that the cooperation between managers and other employees worked but that there were no directives "from above" which regulate the work concerning meals. Teamwork between the kitchen and preschool teachers, which is so important in quality work, was very insignificant and they were looking for ways to solve this. The criteria for the Check list that includes headings as, "Food and quality of raw materials", "Dining" situation", “Work environment and collaboration" and "Education and development" are based on the results we received from interviews, literature studies and field trips. / Måltidskvalitet ingår i det ständiga förbättringsarbete som varje förskola i Sverige måste göra enligt skollagen. Studien, som görs på uppdrag av Miljöförvaltningen Malmö stad, inriktar sig på detta kvalitetsarbete. Genom att ta fram kriterier för en checklista för måltidkvaliteten och att identifiera vad måltidskvalitet innebär för personer som är knutna till måltiden i förskolan (chefer, kockar, pedagoger och föräldrar), är målsättningen att detta blir en hjälp i kvalitetsarbetet.   Olika organisationers sätt att hantera, utvärdera och använda sig av olika modeller och redskap för att förbättra måltidskvaliteten har inspirerat sammansättningen av checklistan.   I litteraturgenomgången bekräftas teorier som uppkommit under analysarbetet kring vad en måltid är och på vilket sätt kvalitet kan bedömas. Resultatet av litteraturgenomgångenvisar att måltidskvalitet beskrivs som ett komplext begrepp bestående av olika delar, där mat, miljö och service tillsammans formar måltidskvalitet.   Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och enkäter har en uppfattning om förskolornas kvalitetsarbete inom måltidsverksamheten erhållits, som visar på en stor bredd och stora skillnader i hur man arbetar med måltidskvalitet. På frågan vad måltidskvalitet betyder för de olika yrkesgrupperna är dock svaren samstämmiga, -att råvaran ska vara god, aptitlig, ekologisk eller komma från producenter i närområdet.   Det visade sig att samarbetet mellan chefer och övrig personal fungerade men att det inte förekom några direktiv ”uppifrån” som reglerade måltidsarbetet. Samarbetet mellan kök- och pedagogerna, som beskrivs som viktig i kvalitetsarbetet, var mycket litet och man letade efter sätt att lösa detta. Kriterierna för checklistan; ”Mat och råvarornas kvalitet”, ”Måltidssituationen”, ”Arbetsmiljö och samverkan” samt ”Utbildning och utveckling” har arbetats fram som ett resultat av vårt empiriska material samt den genomgång av tidigare studier och modeller som genomförts inom ramen för uppsatsarbetet.