In the last days of September, we discovered the presence of a banned substance (Zilpaterol) in some batches of our equine feed. Whilst the levels of Zilpaterol were small, it presented one of the greatest challenges in the history of the business. 

It is important to highlight that this substance is not approved for use within the EU and has never formed part of any formulation in any GAIN animal nutrition ranges. It entered our supply chain through an ingredient that was subsequently recalled by one of our suppliers. It is prohibited in all jurisdictions under the rules of equine competition and sales. 

Zilpaterol is approved for use as a feed supplement to enhance performance in some beef production systems outside the EU.

At the time of discovering the substance, our equine feed business was on course to deliver double digit growth and that was despite the challenges presented by Covid-19.

Following extensive testing by our Q&C team, we had isolated the source (molasses supplied by a third party) within four days.

The Hurdle
We were faced with the task of informing and working with customers to stop feeding the impacted product across multiple geographies. Our production staff had to remove all impacted product, source a verified alternative ingredient supply, clean down production facilities and recommence production. The teams worked hard to achieve that outcome within 36 hours of confirming the source.

Our Customers
Whatever the business, our customer comes first! The passion, purpose and professionalism with which the teams handled our customers was exemplary. Their passion ignited their purpose and there are simply no words that could adequately describe the diligence, the patience and the time invested by everyone to defend our business. Saturday and Sunday became work days for a number of weeks and no doubt impacted significantly on family life! The scale, the geographic spread and the nature of the issue made this a very difficult/challenging task and our full compliments to our logistics and supply chain teams for their support.

Next Steps
At this juncture, we are very much in business recovery mode and based on the many customers that continue with business as usual, I’m certain that technology will never replace a passionate team that love the business they work for.

Our sincerest gratitude and compliments to the below on your exceptional work!

• Joanne Hurley and her team, Michael, Philip, John and Derry
• Anne Priestman and her team, Alan, Charmaine, Celia and Laura (who took some time out of maternity leave to assist)
• Lauren Baker and John Kingston
• Our logistics, supply chain, quality and compliance, legal, marketing and communications functions