Enhancing Omega-3 in diets

Millennial Salmon Project maximizes inclusion of AlgaPrime DHA keeping performance in feed production

Corbion’s algae-based omega-3 liquid suspension can be used at varying inclusion levels and up to three times the industry standard with high retention of omega-3 fatty acids, feed quality, digestibility, supporting sustainable growth in the aquaculture industry

Corbion, the global market leader in algae-based ingredients, announced today preliminary results of a new study from the Millennial Salmon Project, a strategic partnership among organizations along the value chain of salmon production. Conducted by Nofima and recently published in Aquaculture, the study confirms that AlgaPrime DHA can be added at varying levels without negatively impacting feed quality, and actually promoting a more stable process and pellet quality.

Primarily funded by the Research Council of Norway and made up of leading organizations Nofima, InnovaFeed, Corbion, Cargill, MOWI, Labeyrie Fine Foods, SINTEF Ocean and Auchan, the Millennial Salmon Project aims to create the world’s most sustainable farmed salmon using novel ingredients with a low carbon footprint and a focus on the circular economy.

The first round of research sought to determine optimal inclusion levels of AlgaPrime DHA LS — Corbion’s algae-based omega-3 DHA-rich ingredient in liquid suspension — in feed for Atlantic salmon, evaluating the ingredient’s effect on the feed production process. Variables examined included: physical pellet quality, expansion parameters and microstructure and later its digestibility. AlgaPrime DHA can be incorporated at two different moments in the feed production process: into the mix prior to extrusion and during pellet coating. Therefore, the maximum levels of AlgaPrime DHA inclusion in both moments was studied.

An array of diets was produced and tested, from a control feed using fish meal and soy protein concentrate to feeds with the high inclusion levels of AlgaPrime DHA LS. Applying a method that enables numerous comparisons, researchers determined that inclusion of 100 g/kg AlgaPrime DHA LS in the mixture was commercially interesting, considering the levels of lipids mostly used in the feed mix.

Based on the industry standard practices, researchers tested AlgaPrime DHA LS in the pellet coating process and were able to add up to 14% inclusion in a final feed with 36% lipids, which is far above the relevant industrial application levels of omega-3.

In a uncommon study design that combines the technical application and nutrition science and after the feed production trials, the research group then looked at four diets containing AlgaPrime DHA in the mix, the coating, and a combination of the two, using AlgaPrime DHA LS at 10% and 20% inclusions. All four diets showed high nutrient digestibility in Atlantic salmon. For reference, with the inclusion of 8% of AlgaPrime DHA LS is possible to replace a 10% inclusion of fish oil in diets with the same omega-3 levels.