Shochu Distillery By-Products as Effective Feed

Abstract

Shochu distillery by-products can be effectively used as animal feed although the moisture content is very high. Moisture contents of shochu distillery by-products derived from sweet potato, barley and rice are 95 %, 92 % and 92%, respectively. Relative protein contents of shochu distillery by-products are high and thus they are good protein sources. Indeed, until around 1972, shochu distillery by-products had been used widely as a liquid feed for pigs and cows. However, due to the modernization of pig farming, farmers stopped feeding the by-products. In the case of daily farming, feeding the by-products was prohibited because their smell moves into the milk. The new technology to process shochu distillery by-products makes easier to feed them to farm animals. Shochu distillery by-products are first separated to the liquid and solid parts by a decanter or a screw-press. The separated solid parts (cake) contain 85% and 65% moisture in the case of sweet potato and barley shochu distillery by-products, respectively. Drying the cakes is much easier than drying the raw materials. Dried cake is already widely used as an ingredient of formula feeds. The cakes are sometime fed to cows without drying. But feeding the cake is laborious because the cake is sticky and heavy. The liquid part is condensed to about 60% moisture and then used as ingredients of TMR and formula feed. Condensing the liquid make easier not only transportation but also long-term preservation. In addition, it is clarified that both solid and liquid parts have growth promoting effect in broiler and pig.