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Quality Standards

EQUISTRO® Quality Standard

 

 

Did you know ?

For every 5 people on the production lines, one person is dedicated to EQUISTRO® product quality.

Is it normal not to know exactly what you are giving to your horse ?

Contrary to popular belief there is a plethora of European legislation (regulations and directives) in existence that governs feeding stuffs (including nutritional supplements for horses). Likewise, the labeling of complementary feeding stuffs is subject to strict regulations in order to give the consumer a better visibility on what they are feeding to their horse. The EQUISTRO® range prides itself on ensuring that its labeling not only conforms to the latest European directives in vigour but that all of the information necessary for making an informed consumer choice is clearly marked on the label.

When it comes to quality the label says it all !

Liquid Formulation

The EQUISTRO® liquid formulations are at the forefront of leading technology. Vetoquinol used its liquid for injection technology from its pharmaceutical products to the benefit of the EQUISTRO® liquid nutritional supplement range for high performance liquid formulations. EQUISTRO® possesses one of the most complete equine liquid nutritional ranges available today in the market, thanks to Vetoquinol’s keen investment to see this aspect of the range develop in order to better serve you, our clients.

The EQUISTRO® liquid nutritional range, the ultimate challenge to be mastered by the Vetoquinol development and production teams. Let’s see why?

1. Raw ingredients: how to adequately dissolve or suspend them such that each measure contains the right amount of ingredients every time? 

For the EQUISTRO® liquid range, Vetoquinol scientists have sought out the desired raw ingredients that are either in a soluble form (e.g. IPALIGO® trace elements, liquid herb extracts, soluble vitamin forms) or that can be suspended in the liquid formulation (e.g. organic form of Selenium). Top quality liquid formulations often require a delicate balance between pH (acidity) and liquid formulation viscosity in order to get the perfect result every time.

The challenges for the Vetoquinol Development and Production teams:

  • Optimal mixing to give a homogenous product
  • Perfect suspension of the non-soluble ingredients

Vetoquinol advises that each liquid formulation product should be gently shaken for 5 to 10 seconds prior to removing the cap and administering the appropriate dose into the concentrate ration, water or directly into the mouth according to the product being used (consult the product label).

2. Ensuring an excellent palatability and acceptability by the horse 

A vital question when conceiving any formulation. Even more so for a liquid formulation that can be added to the drinking water or directly administered into the mouth, as is the case for the majority of the EQUISTRO® liquid range. Identification of certain excipients that can act as sweeteners without overloading the horse with sugars are being gradually introduced by EQUISTRO®. A first for the industry.

3. A finished formulation that is easy to deliver with a minimum of loss

Thanks to EQUISTRO®’s unique liquid delivery system that allows:

  • Accurately measured volumes to be administered
  • Minimal mess
  • Reduced contamination of the bottle during the intended period after opening 

You can quickly and cleanly administer the desired volume with no waste.

4. Liquid formulation viscosity, 

Between products this can vary according to the ingredients that they contain and their needs in terms of solubility and suspension (e.g. EQUISTRO® KERABOL is a relatively fluid formulation whereas EQUISTRO® HAEMOLYTAN 400 is relatively viscous). Vetoquinol advises that upon opening, the initial administration is performed with a certain degree of precaution in order for the client to become used to the necessary pressure needed to administer the product.

5. Quality and security of the liquid formulations. 

All nutritional liquid formulations are potentially at risk of contamination or degradation. EQUISTRO®'s liquid formulations are rigorously checked for bacterial/fungal contamination and what is more the unique liquid formulations are conceived to resist contamination from the moment they are first opened for use.

Powder Formulations

The EQUISTRO® powder formulations, a premium quality that is unbeatable.

Today, the powder formulations continue to form the basis for all equine nutritional supplement ranges. The science behind a quality powder presentation, its conception, formulation and production should not be underestimated.

Let's take a closer look at the points that are considered by the EQUISTRO® specialists?

1. Is the ingredient readily obtainable in a stable powdered state? 

Not all raw materials used in the EQUISTRO® range naturally lend themselves to being introduced into powder formulations e.g. certain herbs loose some of their key nutritional value when ground to a powder state.

2. Will the powdered ingredient be readily accepted by the horse? 

Horses are notoriously attentive to what they eat, and thanks to their prehensile lips, they can select carefully what they wish to eat. Careful attention is paid to the appetence of the formulation. Palatability studies on horses are routinely performed on all EQUISTRO® products.

3. The finished product often contains several ingredients and additives each with differing granule size and density that with time can separate out. A challenge for the production team:

  • Optimal mixing to give a homogenous product

  • Compensating particle size and density to ensure that the formulation remains homogenous over time. The same constituents from the first to the last scoop, a Vetoquinol Best Practices guarantee. 

4. Ensuring that the finished product is free-flowing for customer ease of use and that with time it does not become like concrete, often a sign of a low quality product. 

The benefits of EQUISTRO® powder formulations

  • Special free flowing formulas
  • Easy administration with provided measuring scoop
  • Generally good palatability and acceptance by the horse
  • In a form that is easily assimilated by the horse

How are the EQUISTRO® powder formulations made?

The manufacturing process:

1. Mixing

All of the ingredients in the formula, after having been subject to quality control, are measured out into a mixing reactor and then blended during a predetermined time to ensure a uniform and homogenous mix. Particular care is paid to the environmental humidity prior to batch production for the best results.

2. Conditioning and packaging

The bulk finished product has samples taken for reference and analytical purposes, and is then carefully weighed out into the appropriate packaging container with its scoop, ready for use. The appropriate label is then applied to the container. All of the above procedures are under the strict surveillance of the Quality control pharmacist. 

How does EQUISTRO® ensure that the nutritional value is not compromised during the process ? 

The EQUISTRO® product range as part of their manufacturing process validate during the Research and Development phase the optimal equipment and their usage speeds to ensure that the individual raw material nutritional value is not compromised during the manufacturing process.

Furthermore, the levels of ingredients and additives declared on the label are those following analysis of the finished product and thus you give to your horse exactly what is announced on the label. A Vetoquinol Best Practices guarantee.

Pellet Formulations

The benefits of pelleting certain EQUISTRO® formulations

  • Capturing and sealing in the nutrient value

  • Minimum wastage

  • Excellent palatability and acceptance

  • Can be given with a minimum of concentrate ration

How are the pellets made ?

1. Mixing

All of the ingredients in the formula, after having been subject to quality control,
accurate weighing and charging of the mixer, are blended during a predetermined time to ensure a uniform mix. 

2. Pelleting

After mixing, the mash is delivered to the pellet mill feeder. The mash is fed into the pellet mill chamber and then the roller and die extruder. The mash is compacted through the die and soft moist pellets are formed. Extruded pellets are never subjected to temperatures that exceed 30°C ensuring a «Cold Extrusion Process» to preserve the vitamin, mineral and plant nutrient qualities. 

 

3. Drying

The moist pellets are dried in a conveyer in the dryer. The final product is then evaluated by the Quality control manager for:

  • Pellet hardness (Pellet durability Index)

  • Colour uniformity

  • Average pellet length

  • Average pellet diameter

  • A reference sample is kept whilst another is sent for analysis prior to packaging into the appropriate containers.

How does EQUISTRO® ensure that the nutritional value is not compromised during the process?

The pelleted EQUISTRO® products as part of their manufacturing process employ a « cold » pellet extrusion process to ensure that vitamins, trace elements, essential amino acids and fatty acids as well as the herbs that make up certain formulations do not suffer from “denaturing” of their nutritional value during the manufacturing process.

In addition, the levels of ingredients and additives declared on the label are those following analysis of the finished product and thus you give to your horse exactly what is announced on the label, nothing more and nothing less. This is part of the Vetoquinol Best Practices.

Privacy and Cookies Policy

Last update: March 3rd, 2021

The Vetoquinol group and the companies within it (referred to collectively in this document as “the Group”, “we” or “our”) are committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your data and we take care to protect your personal data. Please read the following information carefully. It tells you about how we collect and use your personal information and the options available to you in connection with its use.

For the purposes of this privacy and cookies policy, (the “Privacy and Cookies Policy”), the data controller is Vetoquinol SA, a company registered on the Vesoul/Gray Trade and Companies Register under number 676 250 111 and which has its registered office at sis Magny-Vernois, 70200 Lure.

This privacy and Cookies Policy applies to the products and services offered by the Group (the “Products and Services”) on our website https://www.equistro.com/ (hereafter called the "Website") and particularly:

personal data collected on the subscription forms available on the websites of Group companies linked to the Website;

personal data collected through the contact form;

personal data collected through a request for information;

personal data which may be collected when you enter into a commercial relationship with a company in the Group.

personal data which may be collected through the use of social buttons (Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc);

personal data which may be collected through the installation of cookies during connection and/or when visiting the Website(s).

This Privacy and Cookies Policy applies whether you are a “Visitor” (which means you are simply looking at the Products and Services) or a “User” (which means that you have registered with the Website).


The Privacy and Cookies Policy thus governs the use of the Website however you access it.

By accessing or using the Website and providing us with information via the Site, you accept this Privacy Protection and Cookies Policy. We recommend that you regularly check the Policy as we often update and modify it.



PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED
Data that does not allow you to be identified

You can visit our Website without sending us any information that can enable you to be identified, unless you decide to become a Website User, which requires registration.

Like the majority of online services, we automatically collect certain data and information about you and/or your computer each time you visit our Website, but this does not enable you to be identified. This information includes:

The type of internet browser you use;
The type of operating system and device you use to access the Website;
Your Internet service provider’s domain name;
The web page from which you come;
The country where you live and your language;
The pages and options that you visit and access on our Website.
When you access, visit and/or use our Website we can, therefore, follow your visit and collect certain data about your use of the Products and Services and your activities on the Website, as described below in the “cookies” section.

Personal Data

In certain cases, in particular when you register, contact us or request information, you may be asked to provide personal data, such as your surname, first name, email address and telephone number (“Personal Data”).

When you contact us or ask for information by email or post, we collect the Personal Data that you voluntarily decide to disclose to us.

However, if you do not wish to disclose your Personal Data, some of the services and/or options available on the Website and/or linked to our offer of Products and Services may be unavailable to you.

We also collect Personal Data when the Website allows you to register on “My Space” or “My Account”: you will be asked to disclose Personal Data such as your surname, first name, title, year of birth, email address, country of residence, name of the employer and telephone number. We may also obtain Personal Data via your internet browser, such as your IP Address, which is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you use the internet.

We may also obtain Personal Data about you from other sources. For example, we may ask a third party supplier or collector to provide us with additional Personal Data about our existing clients (adding data or “data appending”), particularly Personal Data collected from your profile or your publications on a third-party social network. We may also collect Personal Data from third-party co-sponsors with whom we work or if we buy out other companies.

We may also collect Personal Data appearing on your profile for a third-party social network (particularly Facebook) if you authorise the third-party network to disclose this to us or if you put it on  line publicly. This Personal Data may be general data relating to your account (for example, name, email address, profile photo, gender, birthdate, current town/city, identifier, list of friends, etc.) and any other information or activity that you authorise the third-party social network to share with us or that you put on line publicly on your profile. We may, for example, receive all or party of your information relative to social networks when you download or interact with one of our applications on a social network site (notably Facebook). For more information on how we can obtain your information relating to social networks, please visit the Internet site of the third party social network concerned.



HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
The Personal Data sent to the Website, either based on your consent (request for information or documentation) or based on a contract (contact form or registration on our Website to benefit from Products and Services). We may use the Personal Data you disclose to us via the Website particularly for the purposes of:

Supplying you with various Products and Services;
Creating access to “My Space” or “My Account” when the Website allows you to do so.
Providing you with documents you have requested (newsletters etc.) and inviting you to events;
Answering your questions;
Customising our offer of Products and Services and improving your browsing experience on the Website, by making it more effective and efficient;
Generally complying with the Group’s legal, regulatory accounting and tax obligations;
Informing you about Products and Services which are new or similar to those from which you already benefit and which could be of interest to you;
Processing requests and complaints related to the Website, initiated by you and/or a third party, which concern you.


HOW WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Personal Data used in connection with use of the Website

We store this Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which we process it and in any event for the period necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement.

Personal data used to send you information

Your Personal Data will be kept for as long as your subscription is live. You can bring this to an end at any time by unsubscribing, using the link shown. In any event, if you do not make contact for three years, your Personal Data will be erased.

Personal data used to send marketing offers

Your Personal Data will be kept for as long as you agree to receive our marketing offers. You can bring this to an end at any time by unsubscribing, using the link shown. In any event, if you do not make contact for three years, your Personal Data will be erased.

Personal Data used in connection with a commercial relationship

We store this Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which we process them, that is throughout our contractual relationship, and in any event for the period necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement.



HOW WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Transfer outside the European Union

When the processing of your Personal data involves a transfer to third countries outside the European Union, the transfer is to countries listed by the European Commission as providing sufficient protection for data and/or is covered by appropriate guarantees based on standard contract clauses reflecting models published by the European Commission.

When sharing of Personal Data involves transfer to the United States, recipients will have Privacy Shield certification.

The Group’s companies

We may share your Personal Data with companies in the Group. For further information on the companies in the Group, please go to http://www.vetoquinol.com/fr/implantation/home.

Service Providers

As part of the conduct of our business, we may transfer your Personal Data to service providers. These service providers use your Personal Data only to enable us to supply you with Products and Services. As examples, these service providers may supply IT services, be our logistics or marketing partners, our website host, or support us in data management, email distribution or analysis of information. We disclose to our service providers only the Personal Data they need to provide their services and we work with them to ensure that your Personal Data are respected and protected.

We never disclose any personal Data to these companies for their own marketing or commercial needs. However, we may disclose your Personal Data to our commercial partners only in order to provide you with our Products and Services or other products and services which may be of interest to you.

Legal Obligations

We may need to disclose Personal Data in response to a request from a regulatory authority, such as the tax authorities or CNIL (the French data protection authority), and/or a court (in response to a judgment, a court order or injunction) on request or if the law requires us to do so, or in order to protect our interests, our property and/or our security and/or those of a third party.

Unless otherwise provided in this Privacy and Cookies Policy or with your prior permission, we will not sell, market or lend Personal Data to other companies in the normal course of business. However, in the event of any restructuring of the group’s companies (acquisition, merger or partial transfer of assets) your Personal Data may be disclosed to another company, but the disclosure will then be subject to the Privacy and Cookies Policy in force.



HOW DO I KNOW IF MY PERSONAL DATA IS KEPT SAFE?
We have a variety of security measures to prevent the loss, misappropriation or misuse of your Personal Data that you have provided on the Website. In order to guarantee the security of the data you disclose online during transmission, we use encryption, authentication, and flow analysis and we carry out security audits on the hosting environments.



COOKIES: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW WE USE THEM?
A cookie is a text file placed on the device you are using to access the internet (computer, mobile phone, tablet etc.) when you use a browser to visit a website.

We place a unique identifier in the cookie and use the cookie to connect your computer to the information that we store in our database.

It contains data which allow you to be identified:

The name of the server which placed it;
A unique numeric identifier;
Possibly, an expiry date.
We use cookies to:

Recognise you when you return to our Website;
Inform you about new topics that may interest you;
Customise content that may be useful to you;
Measure the audience on the Website for marketing/commercial purposes.
Cookies do not contain any Personal Data and do not allow access to your computer.

The validity deadline to consent to receive Cookies is 13 months. At the end of this period, we will again seek your consent.

When you first visit our Website, an information banner will be displayed at the foot of the page. By continuing to browse the Website after clicking on “I accept”, you expressly consent to the Group placing the cookies you have allowed on your computer (cookies linked to targeted advertising operations, certain audience measurement cookies and social media cookies, generated in particular by sharing buttons when they collect personal data). The banner will be displayed until you continue browsing, i.e. until you make a choice. If you do not wish to receive any or all cookies, we recommend you click on "Personalise" on the banner, and follow the detailed instructions enabling you to refuse all or part of them.

You can change your internet browser settings at any time to accept, configure or refuse cookies. You will be offered a number of options: to accept each cookies, be alerted when a cookie is placed, or refuse all cookies. You also have the possibility to reconsider your choice at any time during your browsing by clicking on the button at the bottom right of your screen.

Each internet browser offers different settings for the management of cookies. They are generally shown in the browser’s help menu. If you use a browser or version different to those listed, we suggest you use the browser’s “Help” menu. Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera.



HOW LINKS FROM THE WEBSITE TO SITES OTHER THAN THOSE OF THE GROUP CAN AFFECT YOU?
The Group may offer links to the websites of other companies with which it has a relationship.

We may place “hyperlinks” to other websites and applications operated by third parties on our Website. The only purpose of these links is to make browsing easier for you and to provide you with the fullest possible information. We have no control over these websites and applications. They are separate from the Group and have their own privacy policies. Consequently, the Group cannot be held liable under any circumstances, in particular in relation to the accuracy, relevance, availability or reliability of information and products and services offered on these websites, their respect for copyright, via these third party websites and applications accessible from our Website. We encourage you to review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third party websites and applications before using them. You should note that our Confidentiality and Cookies Policy ceases to apply when you leave our Website.

Moreover, the Group is not responsible for hypertext links to its own Website which may be included in third party websites, even if the Group has authorised the third party publisher of the website to place such a link.

Finally, the Group generally prohibits anyone from placing a hyperlink to one or more pages of its Website without its express prior consent.



HOW TO REFUSE AND/OR UNSUBSCRIBE FROM EMAILS OR TRANSMISSION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA TO SERVICE PROVIDERS?
If you no longer wish to receive emails from the Group informing you of events, new Products or Services, similar Products or Services, or containing other marketing communications, you only have to click on the “unsubscribe” link at the foot of every email. You will be routed directly to an unsubscribe page in which you can delete your subscription to emails.



HOW CAN I ACCESS, UPDATE OR DELETE THE INFORMATION IN "MY ACCOUNT"?
You can log in to “My Space” or “My Account” when the Website allows you to do so. After you have logged in, you can change your profile and update your Personal Data. You are responsible for protecting your authentication data (particularly your identifiers and passwords). You also have the possibility to unsubscribe by deleting your account.



YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Under the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the protection of personal data and privacy, particularly the GDPR, current French legislation and the recommendations of any independent public authority established by a Member State of the European Union responsible for controlling this legal and regulatory framework, you have a right to access, rectify, object to or erase your Personal Data or limit its processing, and a right to its portability.

You also have a right to give instructions about what should be done with your Personal Data after your death.

You may write to the company Vetoquinol SA about this at any time, at the following address: Vetoquinol SA – DPO – Magny-Vernois, 70200 Lure, or by email to DPO@vetoquinol.com.

In the event of a complaint, you can choose to contact the CNIL.



WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRIVACY AND COOKIES POLICY?
If you have questions or doubts concerning this Privacy and Cookies Policy, you can contact us using the form available on our Website www.vetoquinol.com, or by sending us a letter addressed to Vetoquinol SA – DPO – Magny-Vernois, 70200 Lure. You can also write to our Data Protection Officer by email at DPO@vetoquinol.com.



WHAT LEGISLATION APPLIES TO THIS PRIVACY AND COOKIES POLICY?
This Privacy and Cookies Policy is governed by French law and, with effect from 25 May 2018, by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (“GDPR”). Please note that this policy may change in the light of regulatory developments.