FEATURE
Omega-3
innovation
New algal oil derived from natural marine algae Evonik and DSM recently announced to establish a joint venture for omega-3 fatty acid products from natural marine algae for animal nutrition. This breakthrough innovation will, for the first time, enable the production of omega-3 fatty acids for animal nutrition without using fish oil from wild caught fish, a finite resource. International Aquafeed Magazine caught up with Dr Christoph Kobler from Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH and Dr David Nickell from DSM Nutritional Products Ltd to find out more about this ground breaking idea. Christoph Kobler is Head of Product Line Sustainable Healthy Nutrition at Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from University of Stuttgart. David Nickell is Vice President for Global Marketing & Business Development, Animal Nutrition and Health at DSM Nutritional Products Ltd. He received a PhD in Aquaculture from University of Stirling.
Can you give the readers an overview of what your breakthrough is?
Kobler: We are the first to offer a liquid, non fish-based
alternative source of long chain omega-3-fatty acids. By the help of natural marine algae, we produce an algal oil that contains a natural balance of both essential omega-3-fatty acids EPA and DHA – a true market first. Also, the exceptionally high concentration of active ingredients at greater than 50 percent, increases the flexibility in feed formulation. Nickell: Furthermore, our new algal oil can be applied in feed
production in the same way as fish oil. That means feed and pet food producers can easily introduce it in the process. To meet the increasing demand for omega-3-fatty acids in animal nutrition, we will manufacture at an industrial scale. The initial annual production capacity will meet roughly 15 percent of the total current annual demand for EPA and DHA by the salmon aquaculture industry.
What prompted the joint venture?
Nickell: The success was only possible thanks to the
complementary competencies that both of our two companies bring to the collaboration. DSM has expertise in the cultivation of marine organisms including algae whilst Evonik’s focus has been on developing industrial biotechnology processes and operating at large-scales. Our teamwork across companies, countries, and cultures is fantastic and we consider our joint venture the perfect way of collaborating. Can you give me an overview of the development process with regard to the time taken and the testing criteria?
Kobler: Our joint development agreement signed in 2015
was a starting point for very intensive work on the algae strain as well as on the production process. We gained the micro algae “Schizochytrium” from the marine environment. It is a heterotrophic organism producing both EPA and DHA and therefore particularly suitable for large-scale production processes, as it does not depend on sunlight, for instance. What is the main benefit to the aquaculture industry?
Nickell: Our algal oil enables the aquaculture industry to keep
up with the increasing demand for EPA and DHA. As a non-fish source of these nutrients the algal oil is vital for further growth of the industry. It solves the problem of an already looming gap between the supply and demand of EPA and DHA, which currently is primarily sourced from fish oil. In light of this, we expect our algal oil to play a role in curbing overfishing and helping aquaculture grow in a more sustainable way. For the first time, chances are good that the fish-in-fish-out ratio in the aquaculture business eventually reaches zero.
22 | May 2017 - International Aquafeed