Profile
Mark Karimi is Agilia A/S poultry technical manager. He gained his first BSc degree in Agriculture and worked within this sector for eight years before moving to the UK in 2000. Mark did his 2nd degree in Food Science at The University of Nottingham before joining one of the biggest poultry producers in the UK. He gained a MSc degree in Applied Poultry Science from The University of Glasgow and started his new career as a commercial poultry nutritionist.
with specific bioactive components, offering fantastic benefits to both the health and performance of animals. Poultry producers need to pick the right ones that will maximise their flock’s results.
You talked about functional ingredients. What exactly are they and how can they reduce the chance of infection on farms? Functional ingredients are ingredients that provide health and economic benefits beyond basic nutrition. They usually contain bio-active compounds which have specific functional properties. These properties may provide solutions to recurrent challenges, rather than only focusing on growth. A particularly good example is Alphasoy Gold, a unique product that we do here at Agilia. In 2017, our scientists started a project to create a functional, protein-rich ingredient tailored specifically to the needs of modern young poultry. The aim was to develop an affordable ingredient with both nutritional and functional properties, which help young birds to thrive and grow efficiently from the early stage of life. Agilia scientists know that soybean meal (SBM) and other unprocessed protein sources are hugely variable in consistency and quality, depending on the growing season, source of origin and also processing methods. Moreover, they know that anti-nutritional factors within conventional soybean meal sometimes reach an unbearable level. All of these factors may cause a great deal of stress to young birds. Therefore, we decided to design a process to remove all of these invariabilities
as well as unlock maximum nutritional and functional value from the soybean meal. In this unique process, we managed to reduce all known ANFs to a safe level, so minimised the risk of stress caused by them. We also managed to improve digestibility of all key amino acids by up to 2% (measured in broiler birds). By increasing the digestibility of protein in the small intestine, there is less chance of protein fermentation in the bird’s caeca and large intestine, hence less chance for thriving harmful bacteria and noxious metabolite that they produce. The Alphasoy Gold process alters the carbohydrate profile of soy- bean meal by reducing fermentable carbohydrates and increasing digestible ones. Such a process creates a product with a unique, healthy carbohydrate content and moreover, unlocks around 16% more energy (compared to standard SBM). The bio-active compo- nents of Alphasoy Gold support the development of an optimal gut environment and create the right condition for effective di- gestion and absorption of nutrients. They also boost the bird’s im- mune system with their unique, immune-modulatory properties. All of these properties create a healthy and efficient gut, which keeps enteric pathogens at bay.
Hopefully I have been able to give you a clear example of how we can minimise the use of antibiotics on farm by keeping the bird’s health and well-being under control. It is not an easy job, but being aware of the nutritional tools available to us makes it more achievable for sure.
▶ GUT HEALTH | DECEMBER 2020 95
PHOTO: AGILIA
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