The main protein ingredient in fish feeds, next to fishmeal, has traditionally been soy protein concentrate (SPC) and HiPro soy bean meal (HiPro). Usually grown and exported from South America into Europe, these ingredients are increasingly included in feeds for salmon, in the case of SPC, and other species in the case of HiPro.

But German firm EuroProtein believes it has found an alternative feed ingredient, grown in Europe to the tune of 20 million metric tons per year, with a high protein content and balanced amino acid profile. This ingredient is rapeseed.

\"For several decades, researchers and corporations have been trying to cost-competitively produce a rapeseed protein concentrate (RPC) and HiPro rapeseed for use in animal feeds. However, they have failed due to issues in protein extraction and problems with antinutritional factors,\" said Waldemar Neumuller, managing director of EuroProtein and inventor of the proprietary technology.

\"Now recently, there has been a breakthrough in this respect with the potential to change the landscape of feed ingredients in Europe and entirely replace soy.\"

In an industrial scale trial, rapeseed protein concentrate was produced at a price point and protein content similar to soy protein concentrate with HiPro rapeseed as an intermediary product, his firm claimed.

RPC was assessed in a feeding study on salmon, and performed equally to soy protein concentrate.

\"We think that rapeseed protein concentrate should be a main feed ingredient in European aquaculture feeds, especially if you can produce it at a price point similar to SPC in an industrial process that we have fully proven, together with our engineering partners,\" said Neumuller.

\"Unlike other new technologies, ours doesn\'t require any customized engineering, minimizing construction and performance risk. Another main advantage is that we can bolt our technology onto existing rapeseed crushing plants, leveraging synergies and ending up with a really low CAPEX per ton production capacity and very impressive ROIs [return on investment].\"

EuroProtein\'s first facility is projected to crush 110,000 metric tons of rapeseed and yield 30,000t of protein concentrate, as well as 45,000t of cold-pressed virgin kernel oil, which will also be sold as a feed ingredient, as well as directly for human consumption, the firm said.

The German company is now looking to \"work jointly with Europe\'s large crushers to establish the first commercial factory\", and is looking for industrial partners at the
moment.

Source: Undercurrent News // Original Article