More than 70 of the world's leading academics in the fields of phosphorus, phytate and phytase nutrition took part in the Second International Phytase Summit, held December 11–13 in Rome, Italy.
Presentations there covered whether phytate should be considered as the enemy, how to deal with phytate and how to destroy phytate, including an evolution of phytase "superdosing."
"There was an interesting blend of papers on a diverse but inter-related series of topics, from plant breeding through human nutrition to formulating animal feeds with phytase," said Dr. Hadden Graham, AB Vista's technical director. "The major focus of the summit was on the anti-nutritional effects of phytate, and the subsequent benefits in animal performance of destroying phytate through the use of highly effective phytases."
The original summit took place in Washington, D.C., in 2010.
"[The second International Phytase Summit] was a great success," said Dr. Nathan Cowieson, a delegate to the summit. "It's important for academic researchers, like myself, to understand the priorities of the industry and the event was a great way to achieve this."
The summit was jointly hosted by Schothorst Feed Research; Massey University, New Zealand; University of Maryland; University of Sydney, Australia, and AB Vista.
