Seafoodexport to Bring AlgaPrime DHA to EU Animal Nutrition Market

07 Dec 2016 --- TerraVia and Bunge have announced that Seafoodexport, one of the largest distributors of fish oil to the European pet food industry, will act as a distributor of AlgaPrime DHA, a native whole algae source of omega-3s and a sustainable specialty feed ingredient, in the European pet and production animal segment. DHA, docosahexaenoic acid, is an essential long chain omega-3 fatty acid that plays a critical role in supporting the healthy development of humans and animals.

To meet demand for omega-3s in the pet food and production animal feed markets, sustainable and responsibly sourced alternatives are urgently needed to augment ingredients currently produced from wild marine fish stocks. AlgaPrime DHA provides a sustainable, scalable and economically viable source of omega-3s with virtually no environmental contaminants or heavy metals. As an alternative to ingredients like fish oil and oils present in fish meal produced from forage fish, AlgaPrime DHA can ease the industry’s reliance on wild fish capture and help preserve the ocean environment by reducing depletion of small marine fish.

“The European pet food industry uses more than 50,000 metric tons of high quality fish oil each year,” said David Sussmann, President of Seafoodexport. “As demand increases for wild marine fish stocks, Seafoodexport sees AlgaPrime DHA as a critical ingredient in feed formulations that will allow continued sustainable growth in the industry.”

“Global demand for omega-3s is growing in aquaculture, human and in animal nutrition markets,” added Graham Ellis, Senior Vice President, TerraVia.“On a DHA basis, one metric ton of AlgaPrime DHA is the equivalent of saving up to 40 metric tons of wild caught fish from our oceans. Providing this new, cost effective and sustainable source of omega-3s helps address this broad and growing demand.”

AlgaPrime DHA is currently being made at scale in TerraVia and Bunge’s SB Renewable Oils joint venture facility in Brazil. The facility embodies the principles of sustainable production to produce algae-based products with low carbon, water and land use impacts. Based on sugarcane feedstock, AlgaPrime DHA has a lower environmental impact and higher yield per hectare than DHA produced from other microalgae sources or high-DHA oil seed crops.