A ten-week growth study carried out by the Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing compared the performance of FeedKind-fed bass with a control group using a fishmeal-based feed.

The study found better digestibility of dry matter and nutrients, better antioxidant capacity and better microbial diversity of the FeedKind-based diet than in the control group. While noting that a diet high in fishmeal content was not the best choice for largemouth bass, the study found that containing 3-6% FeedKind in low fishmeal and a high plant protein diet provided optimal benefit.

Allan LeBlanc, Calysta’s head of Animal Feed, said that “largemouth bass production in China is rapidly growing and the results of this study show how a diet comprising FeedKind can deliver tangible benefits not just to the fish themselves, but to the farmer.”

The results come as Calysta works with Adisseo to commission the world’s first industrial-scale FeedKind plant via Calysseo, their 50/50 joint venture to produce FeedKind for China and the wider Asian aquaculture market.

“This news comes at an important time for the Asian aquaculture sector, with the first commercial quantities of FeedKind set to come from the new Calysseo plant by the end of the year,” LeBlanc added.

Calysseo is building its maiden plant in Chongqing, China, which has a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year of FeedKind protein from the first phase of the project, with further expansion planned in future to cope with demand.