FUNCTIONAL PROTEINS
Spray-dried plasma: A sustainable and functional animal protein ingredient for aquaculture feed Javier Polo, APC LLC & APC Europe S.L., Joe Crenshaw, APC LLC, Fco. Javier Alarcón, Lifebioencapsulation SL
Global aquaculture and aquafeed production have had continuous growth for decades. To keep up with growing demand, aquafeed producers need a sustainable supply of multiple ingredients to produce functional water-stable feeds that meet the nutritional requirements for a specific life stage of a given aquatic species for supporting efficient growth and productivity, while minimizing nutrient waste that contributes to a higher carbon footprint. Animal protein ingredients derived from the meat industry contribute to sustainability and can help reduce reliance on the use of less sustainable marine-sourced ingredients like fish or krill meal. Animal protein ingredients including meat and bone meal, meat meal, poultry-byproduct meal, feather meal and blood meal can provide an economical
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source of protein in feed formulations but may have limitations due to variations in protein and ash content. Digestibility of protein in these ingredients can be affected by processing with prolonged heat treatment used by rendering processes versus rapid drying, with shorter heat treatment processes like spray-drying. For example, animal blood ingredients are high in protein content (>75%) but the digestibility can vary depending upon the processing method. The apparent protein digestibility of blood products by trout was reported to be significantly higher for spray dried products vs rendered blood products using steam tube drying or ring drying methods (Bureau et al., 1999). Spraydried blood plasma (SDP) had the highest dry matter and protein digestibility among the spray-dried blood products (Table 1).
Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation Vol 16 Issue 4 2024