Animal feed producer Nutreco is working on replacing fish oil with algae oil, reports Dutch online trade magazine Inkopers-Cafe.nl.
“We have recently looked at our raw materials: what are the most critical products? The availability of fish oil is scarce, in the long run,” says CPO Jurrien Zandbergen. “In the salmon industry, more fish volume is still going into it than comes out. The cycle starts with algae, which are eaten by fish, and eventually, as feed, by salmon. Very inefficient. The algae contain all the omega oils that salmon need. If you can put that directly into the salmon, you don’t need the steps in between.”
Feed coating
Nutreco is also working on a coating for animal feed to enhance the efficiency of the feed, says Zandbergen.
“The more efficient your chain is, the less environmental impact it has. With all the steps in the digestive system, important substances may have broken down before they get the chance to be absorbed into the bloodstream. That’s why we want to protect our feed with a coating so that the substances are released in the right place.”
At Nutreco the cooperation between R&D and sales is strong, Zandbergen continues.
“Especially when it comes to innovation, cooperation between R&D and sales is essential. Before research has started, sales must know where to sell this product. That is why these two departments are in constant contact at our company.”
Animal feed
Nutreco is a Dutch producer of animal feed. Subsidiary Skretting is the world’s largest fish feed producer. Nutreco had a turnover of 5.6 billion in 2016. 4 billion of which included the purchase of raw materials. As of 2016 Nutreco can offer complete fishmeal free feed for salmon.
