In the search for new fish feed ingredients, Aller Aqua will test green protein from Danish company, BioRefine. The ingredient is an organic protein concentrate made of grass harvested from 3,000 ha of land in Denmark. Out of this, BioRefine produces 7,000 tons of green protein concentrate for animal nutrition per year.
The green and organic protein concentrate has a similar nutrient profile to soybean meal and could therefore be a great replacement in Aller Aqua fish feed. Denmark currently imports around 50,000 tons of organic soy annually.
BioRefine was established by three agricultural companies DLG, Danish Agro and DLF with the aim to create a climate and environmentally efficient alternative protein source for animal feed. “BioRefine has the ambition to continuously establish more biorefineries and, thereby, increase the proportion of feed protein ingredients produced in Denmark. We are very happy about the cooperation with Aller Aqua and will closely follow the results conducted by Aller Aqua Research,” said Vagn Hundebøll, CEO at BioRefine.
The functionality of BioRefine’s green protein in the fish feed will be evaluated in feeding trials conducted at Aller Aqua Research station located in Büsum, Germany. In nutrient digestibility and growth trials, the green protein will be tested in feed for rainbow trout, the main fish species in Danish aquaculture. Due to its regionality, grass protein could be a valuable raw material for reducing the carbon footprint of fish feed.
“New raw materials are seldom and here we have an entirely new and locally produced raw material. It is a perfect match for us because this is the kind of raw material we are searching for. We are looking forward to being the first company testing and possibly, later on, including this raw material in our feed,” said Hanno Slawski, group research & development director for Aller Aqua.
Recently, Aller Aqua became the first fish feed company to label their feeds with their respective CO2 equivalent. This was greatly appreciated by the market and client feedback has shown that knowledge about fish feeds carbon footprint is of great interest for all stakeholders along the value chain.
