AFZ

Feed tables like the INRA-AFZ Tables provide values for the most common ingredients. However, the values are given for representative ingredients: the nutritional value of actual ingredients may differ significantly due to variation in chemical composition. Tables often include equations but using them to predict complex nutritional values is not straightforward. For new ingredients that have recently appeared on the feed market, tables offer little or no way to calculate their nutritional values.

The EvaPig® software was created, designed and developed by INRA, AFZ and AJINOMOTO EUROLYSINE S.A.S.

EvaPig® is a calculator of energy values, digestible amino acids and digestible phosphorus of ingredients and diets for growing and adult pigs. It includes a database of chemical composition and nutritive values for about 100 reference ingredients, mostly derived from the INRA-AFZ Tables of chemical composition and nutritive values.

Users can create their own ingredients, either by copying and modifying the reference ingredients, or by creating new ingredients using only chemical composition data. EvaPig® uses equations and coefficients that calculate the nutritive values of the new ingredients.

EvaPig® can create and compare diets created from the reference or user-defined ingredients. It calculates the chemical and nutritional values of the diet by using those of the diet ingredients, with possible corrections for the physical form of the diet and phytase supplementation. It can also calculate the energy values of a diet from its chemical composition only.

Contact

• Jean NOBLET, INRA, UMR SENAH, 35590 Saint-Gilles (France)