A new peer-reviewed paper published in Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture offers a deep analysis of how circular principles can be applied to ingredient selection for aquafeed formulation. The study, led by Dr Brett Glencross, IFFO’s Technical Director, along a team of seven scientists and industry representatives, highlights the need for a more comprehensive and holistic approach to sustainable feed and food production.
The paper, available online, builds on the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC)’s circularity framework, structured around four key pillars:
- Minimising the use of food-grade resources as feed
- Reducing reliance on land use
- Maximising the use of locally sourced ingredients
- Optimising the nutritional characteristics of feed ingredients
“One of the key drivers of circularity is the need to improve sustainability of feed ingredient use. This review demonstrates that a more comprehensive approach to sustainable feed and food production is possible, particularly through life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies. By applying a common, agreed set of rules, we can ensure that environmental burdens are not simply transferred from one product to another,” said Dr Glencross, in a press release.
LCA data shows that marine ingredients have a lower carbon footprint than many other ingredients and reducing their inclusion increases the carbon footprint of aquafeeds.
Shift to plant based materials
The paper underscores that aquaculture feeds are now predominantly composed of plant-based raw materials. This shift has significantly reduced reliance on marine ingredients from 25 percent to 9 percent on average in the last two decades but has also linked global aquafeed production to the broader social and environmental impacts of agriculture, including increased biodiversity impacts and carbon emissions.
Currently, more than 40 percent of the raw material used for marine ingredient production comes from fish by-products, which originate from both wild caught fish and aquaculture processing. Growth in aquaculture will result in growth in marine ingredient production from by-products.
Influence on ingredient choice when carbon-footprint is increasingly constrained on a northern hemisphere Atlantic salmon diet formulation © Glencross
Requirements for circular feed ingredients
Circular feed ingredients are needed provided they follow a complete characterisation process, including digestibility, bioavailability, and consistency of supply. A general target for commercial use should be a minimum of 10,000 tonnes availability with a consistent supply and nutrient composition.
“There is no point in producing a circular feed ingredient if its nutritional characteristics undermine the capacity to formulate a nutritious and balanced feed” the authors noted.
The paper also explores the potential of marine bioactive compounds derived from waste streams – such as bio-active peptides, fish silage, bio-active peptides and marine osmolytes – which can enhance feed performance. These have been the subject of extensive research in the last 30 years for their content of “unknown growth factors”.
The publication calls for coordinated efforts and collaboration across the value chain.
