Feed update: New products and acquisitions

New book on the use of insects for feed and food

Wageningen Academic Publishers has published a new book: Insects as food and feed, from production to consumption. The book, edited by Arnold van Huis and Jeffery K. Tomberlin, outlines the major potential that insects have in order to become a new sector in the food and feed industry, mainly because of the many environmental benefits when compared to meat production. This will be outlined in the book, as well as the whole process from rearing to marketing. The rearing involves large scale and small scale production, facility design, the management of diseases, and how to assure that the insects will be of high quality (genetics). The nutrient content of insects will be discussed and how this is influenced by life stage, diet, the environment and processing. Additional issues are: insect welfare, the creation of an enabling environment, how to deal with consumers, gastronomy and marketing strategies.

New EU classification of manganese additives

The European Commission published the new implementing regulation for the reauthorisation of manganese feed additives in the European Union (EU). This new regulation permits the use of manganese feed additives for a further period of 10 years. One significant change is the introduction of a new classification of manganese chelate called manganese chelate of protein hydrolysates. The introduction of this new classification was in response to a feed additive application received by the European Commission from a sub-group of five members of the European Economic Interest Group – Trace Elements Consortium (TREAC). The TREAC consortium requested that the European Commission introduce the term manganese chelate of protein hydrolysates as this more accurately describes the type of manganese chelate formed upon the binding of a soluble manganese mineral with hydrolysed soy protein.

Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre officially opened

The Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre officially opened its doors today following extensive refurbishment. The centre received more than €600,000 in investment and will boost Alltech and Coppens International’s aqua research capabilities whilst continuing to provide a practical platform for product development and solutions to meet the challenges of modern aqua producers. As the company intensifies its R&D efforts, works are already in place to increase manufacturing. Coppens’ feed production facility in Nettetal, Germany, is currently undergoing expansion work and is set to open in early 2018. One of Coppens International’s primary objectives is to replace fish oil DHA with algae.

Protix invests in insects for human food

Insect producer Protix has acquired Fair Insects, a consortium of breeders that have a long history and experience in growing mealworm, cricket and locust. Through this acquisition Protix will no longer only focus on producing insect meal and insect oil for animal feed (based on Black Soldier Fly), but also add new insect species to its portfolio, serving the human food market with products like protein rich foods, meat replacements and health beverages. Kees Aarts, CEO Protix; “We are very excited with this new Protix company. With the diversification to additional species we can offer the broader range of exciting products our customers have requested over the years. Together with our black soldier fly based ingredients we can further work towards healthy nutrition for all living creatures on this planet and enable a low-footprint society.” In the next two years Protix will follow a structured growth path by systematically increasing the production volume of these new insects while maintaining the highest focus on quality and cost. Protix will work with its customers to develop exciting and sensible products for the conscious consumer.

Approval for Agrifirm to buy Bacutil in Poland

The Polish Competition Authority approved the request made by Dutch feed company Agrifirm for the acquisition of compound feed company Bacutil in Poland. Final agreements for the acquisition were signed on 31 August 2017. “The acquisition of Bacutil gives us access to the poultry market in East Poland, ensuring further growth in this area and bringing us closer to our goal: a top 3 position in the agricultural sector in Poland”, says John Dortmans, Director of Agrifirm in Central and Eastern Europe. The company now has 5 production sites in Poland, located in Szamotuły, Topola Wielka, Margońska Wieś, Płośnica and Bedlno Radzyńskie.

New feed supplement from Azelis

The Belgium company Azelis Animal Nutrition introduces a new ruminant feed supplement: Fibrase. The feed supplement combines dried yeast with fermentation substrates of Aspergillus fungi, which have proven amylolytic and fibrolytic enzyme activity. The synergistic combination of yeast and enzymes increases the biomass of the important fibre-digesting bacteria in the rumen and reduces the hydrolysis time of the starchy and fibrous components of the ration. It also helps to stabilise rumen pH, which will help cows, in particular, cope with acidic silages. The supplement can be hand tipped into TMR feeds, top dressed or incorporated into rations manufactured at the feed mill. Recommended feed rate for dairy cows is 20 gr per head per day. The rate for beef cattle is 10 gr per head per day.

DSM launches animal nutrition and health news app

Animal nutrition and health company DSM launched the DSM ANH Science News App. The app, available to download from the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores, offers an on-demand library of animal nutrition and health abstracts across a variety of species and topics, including poultry, ruminants, swine, aquaculture and pets (companion animals). A filter option in the app allows to select the abstracts by species and key words, letting users tailor the app experience to their topics of interest. The app is updated regularly, and users can choose to receive an alert when a new collection of abstracts has landed for 24/7, on-demand scientific insight.

Alimentsa approved to join BioMar

The acquisition of Alimentsa by BioMar as announced in June is now complete. All necessary approvals have now been obtained and Alimentsa will from 13 September 2017 be a part of BioMar Group. The acquisition will position BioMar among the leading shrimp feed producers in Latin America creating synergies toward existing business. The CEO of BioMar Group, Carlos Diaz explains the rationale behind the acquisition as a unique possibility to create synergies in regards to development and delivery of high-end products and services to the Ecuadorian shrimp farmers, complementing the existing BioMar footprint in Latin Americas set by the business unit in Costa Rica.

Patent for new ethoxyquin-free antioxidant formulation

Animal nutrition company Kemin Industries has been granted a patent for its antioxidant formulation technology which is the basis for the Paradigmox™ antioxidant brand. Paradigmox, which uses the novel antioxidant formulation technology, has been available to animal feed for several years. The flagship solution provides equal efficacy to ethoxyquin in diverse feed applications. Beyond the ethoxyquin-free benefits, the patented antioxidant formulation technology offers improved stability and efficacy in unsaturated vegetable oils, which have become increasingly common in feed formulation. Using a ternary solvent combination, the technology formulates antioxidants with different polarities into a single liquid blend that is perfectly oil soluble.