As the global demand for protein continues to rise, so does the demand for fish. With wild fish stocks declining, aquaculture is expanding to fill the gap. However, currently aquafeeds rely heavily on fishmeal as the main protein component, which puts significant pressure on wild populations.
MicroBioGen’s innovative yeast technology offers a creative solution - transforming large-scale industrial waste and side streams into sustainable, high-quality protein. This technology converts waste products such as glycerol, organic acids, and residual sugars from ethanol and biodiesel production, as well as lactose from dairy processing, into bioavailable single-cell protein (SCP) for fish and animal feeds.
In developing a protein rich alternative to fishmeal that can be produced from abundant waste products, MicroBioGen aims to provide a cost-effective, scalable solution to fortify aquafeeds with sustainably sourced, high-quality protein. Additional benefits to this approach include a balanced amino acid profile and high levels of beneficial enzymes which aid in the absorption of nutrients.
“For nearly two decades, MicroBioGen has developed yeast technology for industrial purposes aimed at improving our partners and their customers’ process efficiency, economics and sustainability. Here, we enable the transformation of what was once low- and negative-value waste into a high-quality protein that can serve as a fishmeal replacement,” said Geoff Bell, chief executive of MicroBioGen, in a press release from the company.
“We are excited to be developing opportunities for alternative fish feed and leveraging the same industry-leading ‘Yeast Innovation as a Service’ that we deliver to our global partners in various industries. Our technology has already been deployed in other industries such as biofuels. We look forward to working with new partners to create a cost-effective, high-margin protein ingredient for aquafeed that can be produced at scale,” he added.
Bell will present the company’s innovative ambitions at the upcoming Aqua Farm 2024 conference in Queensland, which will be held on 15 – 17 May, 2024.
