Health tops conference agenda
Aquavision: The need to combat anti-microbial resistance (AMR); the need to adapt to the new health challenges facing aquaculture; marketing momentum and proper branding were among the main issues discussed on the first day of the Stavanger conference.
The day began with a presentation by the CEO of Nutreco, Knut Nesse, who spoke about the developments within the company.
"During 2015, we went from being a public company to a private, after being acquired by the holding company SHV. Our strategy and management will remain the same, with a focus on nutritional solutions," he said.
He also commented on the need to mitigate anti-microbial resistance (AMR), which is increasing due the use of antibiotics to treat diseases in humans and animals.
"It is a process that humanity is experiencing, and occurs when the drugs do not work. By 2050, AMR could be one of the leading causes of death. It is a global trend which is expected to influence the way we produce food," he said.
He pointed out, through examples such as Costco or Wallmart, who have recently chosen to reduce their purchase of protein treated with antibiotics, that: "consumer demand for products that have not been treated with antibiotics is reflected."
He believes that now is the time to set global goals to reduce the use of antibiotics in food production and insist on total transparency in their use.
Taste, convenience and health
Alf-Herge Aarskog, CEO of Marine Harvest, spoke about “changing the perception of people and informing them about their food choices". The executive highlighted three key concepts to boost salmon sales: taste, convenience and health.
Among the criteria to ensure sustainable growth, the executive said that should pay attention to: production areas, sustainable development of fish feed ingredients; know-how; fish welfare; control of sea lice; the need to reduce mortality and to develop effective solutions for reducing production costs.
"We need to produce food in an efficient manner; develop new technologies for aquaculture; prioritize fish health and sustainable solutions to achieve this; and achieve better product development – branding potential has not been fully exploited," he said.
Feed advances
One of the other highlights from the first day included a presentation by Dr Alex Obach, Managing Director of Skretting ARC, on "food for performance in the life cycle", which delved into the need to adapt fish feed to cope with new health challenges.
