Unibio announced the results of a trial it has been conducting with BioMar and DTU Aqua, the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at the Technical University of Denmark. The project, which is part of a larger GUDP project looking into the development of sustainable protein ingredients for animal feed, tested Unibio’s Uniprotein® product in trout to scale up into the aquafeed business.

The trial showed a high feed intake and adoption by the fish. Following a standardized methodology, the trial demonstrated that Uniprotein® can be included in trout diets with up to 15% of the same high protein digestibility as seen for fishmeal.

David Henstrom, chief executive officer of Unibio, said that “if we are to feed the world and meet the feed demands of the ever-growing population, we need to find more sustainable ways of farming fish. Uniprotein® can play an important role in reducing the current reliance and pressure on wild fish with very efficient use of land and water and a lower carbon footprint in the future. This trial has not only shown that Uniprotein® was highly digestible but also that fish in the trial seemed to enjoy the taste of Uniprotein®.”

Fernando Norambuena, sourcing innovation specialist from BioMar, said that “these are very promising results in terms of digestibility which would bode well for the adoption of Uniprotein® in trout feed. We have seen good acceptance by the fish, and look forward to the results on growth performance from current trials to better understand the potential of this raw material in commercial formulations. Including Uniprotein® in commercial diets as a new alternative ingredient in aquafeed will help reduce pressure on wild ecosystems and move towards achieving our 2030 sustainability goal.”