3/28/2011 --- Novozymes has received EU approval for a phytase enzyme for use in salmon and trout feed. The product lowers feed costs for fish producers and is the only phytase enzyme currently registered for salmonids (salmon and trout) in the EU.

A small amount of enzymes added to feed makes it easier for fish to absorb essential nutrients in the feed while also reducing the fish’s excretion of nutrient salts into the water. These are the benefits of using Novozymes RONOZYME P (L). For producers of salmon and trout this means reduced feed costs and a cleaner aquatic environment.

“The benefits for the aqua farmers are impressive. Even with the additional cost of the supplemented enzymes in the feed, using RONOZYME P (L) lowers total feed costs by several percent. This means farmers can potentially save a lot of money, particularly in light of the sharp rise in feed costs during the past couple of years,“ says Sebastian Søderberg, Marketing Director for feed enzymes in Novozymes.

RONOZYME P is marketed by Novozymes in partnership with DSM Nutritional Products and has previously been approved for swine and poultry. Within recent years global trends have been converging to make alternative nutritional solutions for animal feed increasingly profitable. Significant increases in feed and food prices due to a fast-growing population, unsatisfactory harvests, and increased competition for raw materials have hit the animal farming industry hard. In addition, the demand for meat across the globe is rising by an estimated 2–3% per year.

“Higher feeding costs are reducing farmers’ profits and putting stress on the entire industry, and new cost-reducing technologies are therefore in high demand. Aquaculture is the fastest growing of all food industries so we see great potential for this application,” says Sebastian Søderberg.

Animals need phosphorus to grow, but because animals’ digestive systems cannot utilize enough of the organic phosphorus in feed ingredients of plant origin, inorganic phosphorus is added to most feed products. RONOZYME P (L) complements the animals’ own digestive enzymes and works to liberate the organic phosphorus in the feed, making otherwise indigestible phosphorus available to the animals. This supports the use of plant materials in fish feed, lowers the need for addition of inorganic phosphates, and reduces feed costs.

The RONOZYME product range of feed enzymes is being developed within the alliance of DSM Nutritional Products and Novozymes and represents the most complete feed enzyme portfolio in the feed industry.