Out of the wood
AN American company has successfully brought wood into the fish feed chain and now hopes to scale up its product within the next three years.
Arbiom, based in North Carolina with a pilot plant in Norton, Virginia, has trialled its alternative single cell protein ingredient, SylPro, in two locations as part of the four-year SYLFEED project.
The aim of the project is to convert wood residues into a protein-rich ingredient comprised of SCP (single cell protein) and test it in aquaculture applications
The scientific assessments, which were conducted on juvenile Atlantic salmon at Matis Icelandic Food & Biotech R&D and hybrid striped bass at Texas A&M University, found that SylPro achieved the same results as fishmeal or plant based proteins.
The studies were designed to evaluate the product’s nutritional performance in terms of body weight gain, as well as its effects on the gut microbiome, which researchers measured over the course of a five-week trial period.
With a 20 per cent inclusion rate, it was found there was no difference in weight gain, mortalities or feed intake.
Arbiom and its partners will continue to validate the nutritional performance and sustainability of SylPro, which has been approved for use in feed and food in the US, Canada and EU.
Wood is abundant and it doesn’t compete with food crops, the company’s Amelie Drouault told the Innovation Forum at Aquaculture Europe 2019 in Berlin.
As well as being nutritional as an aqua feed source, it is also economical, traceable and sustainable, she added.
Arbiom’s bioprocessing technology transforms wood residues into fermentable substrates for micro-organism production through pre-treatment and fermentation processes.
The final product is a dried yeast, which is a nutritional protein source for use in aquafeed, and other animal feeds.
SylPro Trials will continue with other species, including tilapia next year, and the company plans to design larger scale commercial plants due for completion in 2022-2023. Each commercial plant will produce 25,000 tonnes.
Arbiom was the runner up of three finalists in the Innovation Awards at the 2019 Global Aquaculture Alliance Leadership GOAL event, in Chennai, India, announced on October 23.