ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS ▶▶▶
Bioprotein production is perking up in Russia
Russia may overcome a shortage of protein on its domestic feed market thanks to several independent projects working on bioprotein production.
BY VLADISLAV VOROTNIKOV, RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENT I
Metaprin is de- signed primarily to replace fish- meal in the diets of poultry, pigs and cattle.
n the Soviet Union, the first production of feed protein from hydrocarbons took place in the 1970s. In total, the country built 12 plants with a designed production per- formance of around 1 million tonnes per year. This was
close to 70% of the world’s bioprotein production at that time. The importance of the bioprotein industry in the coun- try was comparable with that of the nuclear industry, since it allowed the Soviet Union to be self-sufficient in feedstuffs.
All plants manufactured either Paprin – single-cell protein yeast grown on liquid paraffin medium – or Gaprin – inacti- vated biomass of methane, oxidized bacteria Methyllococcus capsulatus. Studies on safety and efficiency were not ade- quately conducted, which resulted in horrifying outcomes in the case of Paprin. Paprin had a devastating impact on animal
health. This product disturbed the hormonal and water bal- ance, causing the formation of oedema all over the animals’ bodies, the Russian Business Consulting agency reported, cit- ing research by the Bashkiria State University. Meat obtained from these animals was causing flare-ups of chronic diseases in consumers. “Meat obtained from animals fed with Paprin contained an accumulation of abnormal amino acids that were incorporated into the membranes of nerve cells, thus disrupting the process of conducting a normal nerve im- pulse,” said Raisa Bashirova, senior researcher at Bashkiria State University. She added that it was even dangerous for humans to work with Paprin: “The workers at the plants and local residents were developing diseases such as thrush and bronchial asthma.” In the 1990s, almost the entire production of bioprotein in Russia was stopped. Gaprin, although it had proved to be safe and efficient, could not compete with rath- er cheap imported protein feedstuffs, which began to land on the local market in large quantities. Now, several decades later, bioprotein production in Russia seems to be getting a second chance.
A new beginning The Russian company Metanica has recently presented a new generation of inactivated protein biomass based on methane
10 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 7, 2020
PHOTO: BERT JANSEN
PHOTO: UNIBIO
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