Expert talk: Zinc oxide in phytase-low phosphorus diets

In many countries, a pharmacological dose of zinc oxide (ZnO) is routinely fed to newly weaned piglets for growth promotion. EU legislation limits the content of Zn in swine feeds to 150 ppm to reduce its impact on the environment. Still, in some EU countries its use is allowed as a therapeutic agent in medicated feeds to prevent piglet diarrhoea in the first two weeks after weaning. Diets are based on cereals and legume seeds, and therefore contain substantial amounts of phytate-phosphorus w