Unibio, a Danish industrial biotech company, has developed a sustainable and environmentally friendly high-value protein, Uniprotein® meal, for feed. Uniprotein® meal is a microbial protein meal capable of easily replacing fishmeal and soy as protein ingredient in feed for various animals including fish and shrimps.
Compared to fishmeal, test results show an improved specific growth rate of +13 percent for salmon with a Uniprotein® inclusion level of up to 36 percent. Uniprotein® meal is both non-GMO and organic and can be produced in almost endless quantities as the production is based on bacteria which are converted to protein through a fermentation process with methane as feedstock.
A perfect alternative to fishmeal
Since fishmeal is a scarce resource, and aquaculture is growing, new alternatives to fishmeal need to be found. The use of plant-based protein has increased significantly during the past decade. Uniprotein® meal, a microbial protein meal grown on methane, has been shown to be another suitable protein source for farmed fish, particularly for shrimps, the salmonid species and other monogastric animals.
Uniprotein® meal consists of 72.9 percent crude protein and 9.1 percent crude fat in the dry matter and has a moisture content of six-to-eight percent, which is comparable to fishmeal. Also, the amino acid composition of Uniprotein® meal is similar to that of fishmeal, which makes it an ideal protein source to replace fishmeal, and it can be used as a direct protein supplement in feed for all animals and fish.
Besides being a suitable replacement of fishmeal due to its nutritional composition, Uniprotein® meal has been shown to have some positive immune-stimulatory effects on the gastrointestinal tract of salmonid species. In salmon a microbial protein meal content of up to 36 percent in the diet has resulted in an improved specific growth rate (+13%) and a significantly higher feed efficiency ratio (+11%) compared to fishmeal diets. Inclusion levels of microbial protein meal of up to 36 percent also showed a higher retention of nitrogen (+19%) and a higher retention of energy (+15%) compared to a fishmeal control diet. These results indicate that inclusion of microbial protein meal improves the gut health of the fish and the function of the gastrointestinal tract, thus increasing digestion and utilisation of nutrients.
“It has been shown that Uniprotein® meal is a perfect substitute for fishmeal. The composition is nearly the same, and tests have shown that the growth rate for e.g. salmon is higher when fed with Uniprotein® meal. We believe that Uniprotein® meal is a competitive alternative to fishmeal”, Unibio CEO Henrik Busch-Larsen states.
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