New aquafeed ingredient launched
An algal oil with a high DHA content is set to be incorporated into salmonid aquafeeds, as a replacement for fish oil, this summer.
Called AlgaPrime DHA, it is being produced at TerraVia and Bunge Ltd’s SB Renewable Oils joint venture facility in Brazil, where full product scale-up was reached in late 2015. The joint venture partners will act as exclusive distributors for the substance. Product sampling to global aquaculture feed producers has taken place over the last few months.
TerraVia and Bunge also announced that they have reached a definitive commercial supply agreement with one of the world’s largest aquaculture feed suppliers. Although the terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed, AlgaPrime DHA is slated to begin incorporation into fish feed for salmonids this July.
“We’re excited to build on our experience in the food and feed ingredients industries to bring a new, sustainable and value added source of DHA to the market at the quality, cost and scale the global aquaculture industry needs,” said Bunge Limited CEO Soren Schroder.
“AlgaPrime DHA is our first major new product from the expanded joint venture with Bunge and could be a real game changer in keeping our oceans healthy by offering a non-marine based, sustainable source of omega-3s to help address the growing ‘fish in, fish out’ problem today. It provides a far more sustainable non-fish based source of DHA to help maintain healthy oceans while improving the nutritional value of seafood for our families,” said TerraVia CEO Jonathan Wolfson.
About 1 million tonnes of omega-3 rich fish oil is produced annually for aquaculture, animal feed and human nutrition. To meet this need, today large quantities of wild fish are caught and processed to extract the fish oil. The demand for omega-3s is growing, but their availability from wild caught ocean fish is limited in nature. Wild fish and their prey naturally consume microalgae as their key and original source of DHA, making AlgaPrime DHA an excellent replacement for fish oil or meal.
“Aquaculture is becoming an increasingly important contributor to the global food system. To meet the continuing growth in demand for fish oil and fish meal, sustainable alternatives are needed,” said Piers Hart, Aquaculture Policy Officer, World Wildlife Fund, UK. “We are eager to see sustainable sources of omega-3 rich oils come to market at scale and reduce pressure on scarce marine resources. The high yield and potentially reduced environmental footprint of algae products produced at SB Renewable Oils in Brazil could make this a more sustainable source of fish feed ingredients.”
The SB Renewable Oils facility uses Bonsucro-certified sugarcane as the feedstock, and the joint venture partners are in the process of securing certification against the Chain of Custody standard.
