The feed additives and specialty feed ingredients manufacturer Lallemand Animal Nutrition and fish feed supplier BioMar have signed a formal research, development and commercial collaboration agreement aimed at expanding the knowledge and use of probiotics in fish feeding.
"This agreement is a natural continuation of the excellent relationship forged with Lallemand Animal Nutrition for more than 10 years, which has led to important innovative landmarks such as the approval for the first time of the use of a probiotic in fish feeding by the European Food Safety Authority - Lallemand's Batocell for use in fish feed," said Torben Svejgaard, CEO of the BioMar.
Since 2010, when the first European Food Safety Authority approval was given, BioMar has been the only feed supplier to offer fish feed with Batocell. With the European Union extending approval to all fish species, BioMar has launched additional new products with Batocell. This includes Larvina ProStart, targeted at early weaning for fish larvae, as well as other types of fish feed such as the Inicio Plus fry feed for Mediterranean fish species.
"Lallemand Animal Nutrition sees a natural ally in BioMar with both companies equally devoted to funding robust research and development aimed at effective commercialization of products," said Yannig Le Treut, general manager of Lallemand Animal Nutrition.
"On the development stance, a partnership with BioMar gives us access to both trial facilities for fish feeding as well as access to the extensive network BioMar has among fish farmers; providing willing sites and capabilities to enable testing of new feed solutions in 'real life' situations. This has proven to be very effective and beneficial e.g. in the approval of Bactocell, where laboratory results were subsequently confirmed in field trials under industrial production conditions."
The current agreement consolidates a research and development collaboration between the two companies.
"We have from both sides allocated significant amounts of resources in a bid to continue to fund research which provides tangible, natural and economic solutions with regards to optimizing fish health, nutrition and welfare. In particular and at the moment we are looking at the effects of probiotics on the microbiome and on gut function, which has been hypothesized to be linked to the prevention of viral and bacterial outbreaks," said Dr. Patrick Campbell and Dr. Mathieu Castex, in charge of the joint research and development programs.
The agreement grants BioMar an exclusive partnership with Lallemand on the use of Batocell in fish feed in all the key markets where BioMar operates.
