Gathering more than ten years of work in the tilapia industry, Phileo by Lesaffre launched a dedicated program aiming to improve gut health and support disease prevention strategies.
The Program Aquasaf Tilapia was conceived to maximize productivity, profitability and sustainability of tilapia farming using Phileo’s functional yeast probiotics and postbiotics. To build the program, Phileo draws on knowledge from more than ten R&D projects carried out in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, using different products and their combination, both in lab and field conditions.
The program provides science-based recommendations to address some of the most challenging issues faced by producers, such as mortalities caused by bacterial infections from Aeromonas hydrophila and Streptococcus agalactiae, reduced growth associated with oxidative stress, economic losses due to poor gut health and feed conversion while avoiding the use of antimicrobial and chemical substances.
Otavio Serino Castro, Phileo’s Aquaculture global species manager, explained, “we designed Program AquaSaf Tilapia to provide a clear view on the mechanisms of action of our solutions and their benefits on immunity, microbiota and performance in different production conditions. It is a tool to support and empower professionals when developing preventive care strategies for more sustainable tilapia production.”
Program Aquasaf Tilapia details how Safmannan®, Phileo’s yeast postbiotic, can reduce pathogens-related mortalities by up to 50%, and how substantial improvements in feed conversion, growth and fillet yield can be achieved by exploring synergies with other Phileo key brands, such as organic selenium-enriched yeast Selsaf®, or yeast probiotic Actisaf®.
Tilapia is farmed in many subtropical regions, such as China, Egypt and Brazil, where production is hindered by seasonal diseases, hence specific actions throughout the production cycle are needed. Alban Caratis, Phileo’s Aquaculture global program manager, highlighted that in some areas the issues are likely to grow in complexity due to the continued development and intensification of production, water scarcity, the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and climate change. Caratis added that “with the Aquasaf Tilapia program, we aim to demonstrate that our solutions and sustainable practices can deliver improved performances, better profitability and increased animal welfare, whether they are adopted by global tilapia industry players or family farmers. That is part of our vision to act with nature for animal care.”
Phileo created a comprehensive manual for tilapia farmers and feed producers detailing guidelines and recent trial results demonstrating the applicability of yeast probiotics and postbiotics for the tilapia industry.
