Pelagia is injecting a fresh wave of innovation into the aquafeed market with the launch of Pro-Allo, a ground-breaking new fishmeal that delivers major benefits in the form of significantly bigger and healthier fish.
Pro-Allo is formulated and manufactured to create the optimal conditions in fish to support allostasis – the biological process of fighting stress caused by factors such as changes in environment and handling. Trials commissioned by Pelagia in seabass found that the inclusion of Pro-Allo in feed reduced the number of vulnerable fish by up to 86% compared with feed made using Group 1 fishmeal. Pro-Allo was also shown to improve the specific growth rate by up to 19% and feed efficiency by as much as 30%.
The new product is produced in Norway from sustainably-sourced fish and to the same strict standards as high-quality Group 1 fishmeal. However, it offers incremental benefits in three key areas:
- Improved raw material freshness. Pelagia is sourcing the freshest raw materials from a dedicated supply chain incorporating new quality parameters in relation to storage time, temperature, handling and distribution. Increased freshness in fishmeal is associated with higher growth rates in fish.
- Optimized protein digestibility. Pelagia is applying gentle methods to dry raw materials, which preserves a higher level of protein digestibility, and has been shown to result in greater specific growth rates and lower feed conversion ratios.
- Increased levels of water-soluble components. The water-soluble protein fraction in fishmeal is important for fish growth and well-being. Levels of such components in conventional fishmeal vary between 18% and 32%, in line with industry quality parameters. By contrast, Pro-Allo contains more than 32% water-soluble protein. This represents a completely new approach. Until now, high levels of water-soluble components in fishmeal have been considered a sign of poor microbiological quality. However, Pro-Allo is formulated and manufactured in such a way as to maximize the presence of beneficial water-soluble components and reduce the presence of undesirable growth-retarding components that are usually associated with a lack of freshness.
Pro-Allo is the result of extensive scientific research and was developed in collaboration with fishmeal expert Anders Aksnes. “Pro-Allo delivers superior fish well-being, growth and robustness by increasing the level of beneficial water-soluble components that appear to support the allostasis phase in fish during challenging periods in their lifecycle. The development of Pelagia’s Pro-Allo has the potential to take the fishmeal sector to a new level,” Aksnes explained.
Arnt-Ove Blytt-Tøsdal Kolås, Pelagia’s chief operating officer, added that “for many years now, we’ve seen very little that’s new in fishmeal, but Pro-Allo changes that. Optimizing the level of beneficial water-soluble components supporting allostasis represents a genuine breakthrough – and one that we believe will be warmly welcomed in the world of aquaculture. We’re also delighted to say that Pro-Allo is just the start, and there will be more innovations to come from Pelagia’s science-based innovation pipeline in the future.”
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