What’s new in the global animal feed industry?

NextAlim to raise capital for insect meal production

The French start-up NextAlim is raising funds from SUEZ Ventures, Dynalim, nutri.CIAB and other industry stakeholders in order to finance the construction of its first industrial unit in Poitiers, France. Since 2014, NextAlim has been developing expertise in the use of insects to turn food waste into proteins for the animal feed and green chemistry sectors. This capital increase allows NextAlim to keep growing while capitalising on the results of its prototype, developed as part of the CYCLAPROVE project. Since its foundation, more than €10 million has been invested in this ambitious project which will be industrialised in 2018.

Tecnozoo appoints Besta Biotech as distributor in Taiwan

Tecnozoo, an Italian manufacturer of specialty nutrient and management solutions for livestock and poultry, has appointed Besta Biotech Co., Ltd., a leading distributor of quality products and advanced technologies for animal health, to distribute its products in Taiwan. This new partnership further affirms Tecnozoo’s commitment to the Asia Pacific region.

Alltech and DLG announce joint venture

Animal health and nutrition company Alltech and DLG Group (DLG) are joining forces to deliver greater profitability and efficiency to farmers and producers in Russia. Alltech and DLG are finalising a joint venture to strengthen their delivery of the latest in innovative animal nutrition. “This joint venture will combine DLG’s excellence in premix manufacturing with Alltech’s field-proven nutritional solutions”, said Dr Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech. The joint venture follows a period of close collaboration and negotiations between Alltech and DLG, both of which have business operations across Europe. The companies will hold a 50% share in the joint venture located in Orenburg, south of the Ural Mountains, in Russia.

Angel Yeast’s Russia plant up and running

On 11 August 2017, the new Russian plant of Angel Yeast started production of yeast products. The project started in September 2015. This is the 2^nd overseas factory of the Chinese company Angel Yeast. The total investment is over 600 million RMB (€8.73 million), and the annual output is 20,000 tonnes of dry yeast.

Zinpro hosts trace mineral symposium in China

Zinpro Corporation announces that it will host the International Trace Mineral Nutrition Symposium 2017 (ITMNS) in Qingdao, China, September 13-15. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and is expected to draw more than 200 invited industry experts from across the globe. This year’s event will focus on the essential role trace mineral nutrition plays in both healthy immune system function and the inflammatory responses that both animals and humans use to fight infection and disease.

“Zinpro established ITMNS as a platform for nutritionists and technical staff to discuss the latest research and more fully understand how trace mineral nutrition positively impacts animal performance and wellness,” says Sou Fei Chin, PhD, vice president of sales – North Asia and China Operations, Zinpro Corporation.

Lallemand sees pets’ microbiota as ‘the second brain’

How to define pet wellbeing? Could we improve pets’ overall health and wellbeing by shaping their intestinal microbiota? Are the gut and brain in bi-directional communication in our companion animals? These are some of the questions that will be addressed at the Nordic Pet Food Seminar in Copenhagen, 9-10 October 2017. The Nordic Pet Food Seminar is a technical event dedicated to pet health and wellbeing. At 11 am, 10 October, Francesca Susca, PhD, DVM, Pet Development Manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, will deliver a lecture titled: Reaching pet wellbeing through the modulation of the gut microflora: Gut, the second brain? This is an opportunity to interact with the petfood and pet supplements industry about the potential of yeast- and bacteria-based ingredients in pet health and wellbeing, with special attention to the brain-gut axis — a very promising area for the pet food industry.

BioMar most sustainability salmon feed company

BioMar tops the chart for the most transparent reporting of sustainability for independent salmon feed companies, adding strength to their core strategic focus of driving and leading sustainable practices within the industry. This is stated in the recently released 2017 benchmark report on Salmon Industry Transparency. Being sustainable has become a ‘ticket to trade’ for BioMar and they have increased the sourcing novel raw materials to help drive their sustainability agenda. BioMar was the first feed producer to offer fish feeds containing alternative marine fatty acids sourced from highly sustainable microalgae. The benchmark report states that BioMar has a ‘can and must do’ attitude towards sustainability. Vidar Gundersen, Global Sustainability Director, BioMar Group, explains why this is the case: “It’s actually very simple. If we don’t take care of the oceans, lakes and forests, we won’t have a job tomorrow. In the worst-case scenario, we won’t even have a world to live in. It’s our heritage, it’s our future, and it’s our responsibility”.