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Biscuit meal

Flour, cereals and ears of wheat on a wooden table

By-products

Former foodstuffs

Pigs: biscuit meal and other former foodstuffs are intended only for pigs outside the Parma ham PDO circuit.

Feeds based on bakery, pasta, confectionery and pastry products and by-products, also known as former foodstuffs.

They are products based on former foodstuffs with a very high energy concentration, thanks to their content of starch (more digestible after heat treatment), sugars and fats.

On farms they are generally known as “biscuit meal”. They are an excellent complement to farm rations: they replace variable shares of cooked cereals, fats (soya oil or lard) and whey (thanks to their 20-25% sugar content).

For sows and piglets (only for pigs outside the Parma ham PDO circuit) an inclusion of 15-20% of the ration is recommended, while for dairy cows a dosage of 2-3 kg per head per day is recommended. Thanks to its fermentation profile and energy concentration it is an excellent replacement for high-moisture maize.

During the summer, which is usually marked by a drop in the animals’ dry matter intake, “biscuit meal” is particularly useful because it concentrates the energy level of the feed and increases its palatability.

For further reading, see the following articles:

Biscotti nella razione di scrofe e suinetti (Biscuit meal in the ration of sows and piglets)Published article · PDF (Italian) · opens in a new tab Derivati della lavorazione di prodotti da forno nella razione di suini pesanti (Bakery by-products in the ration of heavy pigs)Published article · PDF (Italian) · opens in a new tab

– Biscuit meal: a responsible choice for environmental sustainability and the circular economy.

Flour, cereals and ears of wheat on a wooden table
Economic analysis: biscuit meal in the rationWhy it pays, what the savings depend on and the limits of use

Tools on this page

  • Economic analysis

    How much you save with biscuit meal

    Biscuit meal goes into the ration in place of part of the maize, soya bean meal and fats. Enter how much biscuit meal you use: the calculation compares the cost of the components it replaces with the price of biscuit meal and shows the saving per month and per year. All prices and quantities can be edited.

    How much biscuit meal you use

    Biscuit meal used: 7.5 t per month

    Your saving

    €12,553

    Saving per year

    €1,046 per month × 12 months

    €1,046

    Saving per month

    7.5 t of biscuit meal per month

    €139

    Saving per tonne

    €439 for the components − €300 for biscuit meal

    Monthly cost with 7.5 t of biscuit meal

    Components replaced€3,296 · €439/t

    Biscuit meal€2,250 · €300/t

    Difference in your favour: €1,046 per month

    • Maize
    • Soya bean meal
    • Fats
    • Biscuit meal

    Example at reference prices: with 7.5 t of biscuit meal per month the estimated saving is about €1,046 per month and €12,553 per year: the components biscuit meal replaces cost €439 per tonne, biscuit meal €300.

    What it replaces

    1 tonne of biscuit meal takes the place of:

    708 kg of maize97 kg of soya bean meal195 kg of fats

    Same mass, same digestible energy and same crude protein: biscuit meal has more energy than maize and already contains fats, most of them hydrogenated.

    708 kg per t of biscuit meal · Italian maize, average €252–256/t

    cost €180

    97 kg per t of biscuit meal · Italian, non-dehulled, 44% protein

    cost €47

    195 kg per t of biscuit meal · animal fat, acidity 4 – MIU 1, average €1,090–1,100/t

    cost €213

    Cost of the components replaced€439 per t

    average cost given by Alpha · €30/quintal

    cost €300

    Saving per tonne of biscuit meal€139

    Reference prices: Milan commodity exchange, 6 October 2026. Enter the prices you pay. There is no public exchange quotation for hydrogenated fats: we use animal fat as a reference; enter your supplier’s price (another reference: crude degummed soya oil €1,205–1,215/t, Granaria Milano, 29 September 2026).

    Advanced detail: quantities replaced and criterion

    The comparison is with the mix of maize, soya bean meal and fats that supplies the same mass, the same digestible energy and the same crude protein as 1 tonne of biscuit meal. Solving the three conditions with the reference values in the table gives 708.0 kg of maize, 97.4 kg of soya bean meal and 194.6 kg of fats. You can enter the quantities from your own formulation.

    Total: 1,000 kg

    Reference values

    Reference values of the substitution model
    Raw materialDigestible energyCrude protein
    Biscuit meal14,220 kcal/kg9.95%
    Maize23,390 kcal/kg8%
    Soya bean meal 4433,500 kcal/kg44%
    Fats37,600 kcal/kg0%
    1. Average of the two biscuit meals in Table 2 of the article “Biscotti nella razione di scrofe e suinetti” (Bakery by-products in sow and piglet rations; Suinicoltura 9-2007).
    2. Energy: Fig. 1 of the same article; protein: literature reference.
    3. Literature references (for soya, feed composition tables for pigs).

    The quantities are a calculation reference, not Alpha data. Formula: cost of the components = sum of kg × price (€/t) / 1,000; saving per tonne = cost of the components − price of biscuit meal; saving per month = saving per tonne × tonnes per month; per year = per month × 12.

    Indicative estimate: biscuit meal quantities and the ration should be checked with Alpha’s technical service.

    Source: price of biscuit meal given by Alpha (€300/t); maize, soya bean meal and animal fat from the Milan commodity exchange, 6 October 2026; substitution on an equal mass, digestible energy and crude protein basis (values in the advanced detail); doses from the alphasrl.com page “Biscotti” (bakery by-products).

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    Open the tool full page: How much you save with biscuit meal

    How much you save with biscuit meal

    Monthly and yearly saving when biscuit meal replaces maize, soya and fats.On the farm: how much you save per month and per year with your cows or pigs, with biscuit meal in place of maize, soya and fats.In the formula: saving per tonne with biscuit meal in place of maize, soya and fats, at your prices.    Cattle · Pigs

  • Calculation tool

    How much biscuit meal in the ration

    Calculate the daily requirement for bakery by-products (biscuit meal): for dairy cows from the number of animals, for sows and piglets from the daily ration.

    Dairy cows
    Sows and piglets

    For pigs: only for pigs outside the Parma ham PDO circuit.

    Estimated biscuit meal requirement

    Total per day
    200–300 kg
    Dairy cows
    200–300 kg/day
    Sows and piglets
    0 kg/day
    Per month (30 days)
    6–9 t

    You need 200 to 300 kg of bakery by-products a day.

    Indicative values: the ration should be checked with Alpha’s technical service.

    Source: alphasrl.com page “Biscotti” (bakery by-products): 15–20% of the ration for sows and piglets, 2–3 kg per head per day for dairy cows.

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    Reference doses

    Recommended doses of bakery by-products
    CategoryRecommended dose
    Dairy cows2–3 kg per head per day
    Sows and piglets15–20% of the ration

    Note: for pregnant and lactating sows the technical article “Biscotti nella razione di scrofe e suinetti” (Bakery by-products in sow and piglet rations; Suinicoltura 9-2007, Table 4) gives 10–15%; the calculation uses the 15–20% recommended on the bakery by-products page.

    In summer, when dry matter intake falls, bakery by-products let you concentrate the energy level of the feed and make it more palatable. To estimate how far intake can fall, use the summer intake drop calculator.

    Open the tool full page: How much biscuit meal in the ration

    How much biscuit meal in the ration

    Bakery by-products per day and per month for dairy cows, sows and piglets.Biscuit meal per day per head and for the farm: dairy cows, sows and piglets.Monthly biscuit meal requirement of a farm, to plan supplies.    Cattle · Pigs

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