Aller Aqua and Fishmeal Producer Team up on Functional Marine Ingredient Research

Danish companies, fish feed manufacturer, Aller Aqua, and\r\nfishmeal and fish oil producer, TripleNine, have entered a research\r\ncollaboration to identify components of marine raw materials that may benefit\r\nfish health and growth.

TripleNine has been working in this area for several years;\r\nthe company has now managed to extract a highly concentrated source of\r\nphospholipids from marine resources for use in fish feed.

Aller Aqua will trial the newly developed ingredient in fry\r\nfeed at its test facility in Germany, said Dr Hanno Slawski, Group R&D\r\nDirector, Aller Aqua.

These highly concentrated marine phospholipids mimic parts\r\nof the natural food of the fry very closely, he told us.

Fry grows fast compared to their size, and thus create a lot\r\nof cells. Phospholipids are considered the building stones of cell walls and\r\nthus it is important for the development of healthy, flexible and functional\r\ncells that the fry are well supplied with feed high in such ingredients, he\r\nexplained.

Marine phospholipids, according to the literature, contain\r\nlong-chain omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, among other components, and have a\r\nbroad spectrum of health benefits for both animals and humans.

Trial work ​

Marine phospholipids could also work as a substitute for\r\nvegetable derived lecithin, said the R&D director.

Aller Aqua will now look to validate the benefits of the\r\nmarine derived ingredient in feed formulations for freshly hatched rainbow\r\ntrout, comparing marine phospholipids with vegetable lecithin sources.

The company will start producing the test feed in the next\r\nweeks and the trials will start in October: “It will take a couple of months\r\nbefore we have results to share,”​ he said.

Upgrading existing raw materials ​

“Due to the scarcity of fishmeal and fish oil, we need to\r\nmake maximum use of what is available,”​ stressed Slawski.

He sees the optimization of by-products for feed as the more\r\nsustainable option.

“There is a lot of research going on, investment into the\r\ndevelopment of new raw materials such as insect, bacterial and algae derived\r\nmeal, but, for the moment, we don’t see much in the way of big production\r\nvolumes or affordable prices in relation to those. Very few [actors] are\r\nlooking at refining or upgrading existing raw materials, whether that is\r\nfishmeal or soybean meal, or poultry meal or feather meal, and, yet, there is\r\ngreat value in doing that.”​

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Kenneth Storbank, chief commercial officer, TripleNine, in a\r\nrelease, weighed in on that: “As the aquaculture sector aims to increase\r\nsustainability, we, as marine ingredient developers, need to aid the process by\r\nintroducing and actively collaborating to test product improvements and\r\nalternatives to the already known products.”​

Source : Feed Navigator