KATHMANDU, JULY 27

The US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) in partnership with Right To Protein has announced the launch of Nepal's first feed label - 'Soy Fed' - for animal protein product producers, amid a two-day programme that commenced here today.

According to USSEC, the feed label will drive awareness about the protein-rich sources and highlight its role in quality protein consumption for animals and humans.

Speaking at the programme today, Deeba Giannoulis, head of marketing for USSEC South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, said that the launch of 'Soy Fed' label is an attempt to educate the industry and the consumers about high quality protein sources for animal feed.

'The 'Soy Fed' label is our effort to further Nepal's health agenda to meet protein sufficiency goals. We aim to educate both the industries and the consumers to distinguish soy as the quality protein source for animal feed as well as to be more aware about their protein feed choices,' she said.

Similarly, Pawan Kumar, lead-Nepal for USSEC, remarked that soybean meals have high protein content and are rich in highly digestible protein. 'With the introduction of the 'Soy Fed' label in Nepal, we are making concerted efforts to highlight the importance of quality protein consumption and to create awareness on the need to know what the livestocks are fed,' he stated.

Furthermore, President of Nepal Poultry Federation Guna Chandra Bista said that Nepal is witnessing a shift in consumer mindsets where ingredient transparency and food labels help them to make better and more informed choices, adding that consumers have the right to know that products they consume are safe and highly nutritious.

The soybean meal has a tremendous impact on the growth and development of livestock, poultry, or fish due to the superior amino acid profile and amino acid digestibility.

This makes soy-fed animal protein products high-quality protein foods for human consumption.

The 'Soy Fed' label was launched in India in September 2021, following which leading poultry producers have adopted this voluntary label for their products. This is helping them contribute to India's larger cause of promoting protein awareness and nutrition sufficiency, as per USSEC.

The 'Soy Fed' label is in the process of reaching out to several retail brands in Nepal for voluntary adoption of the label on their brand's packaging to help consumers identify better-fed animal-protein products giving them the power to differentiate their food by knowing more about its feed.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 28, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.