NEW PROTEINS ▶▶▶
Algae residuals as chicken feed?
Belgian researchers use residues from algae production for human food to assess their application in chicken feed. This idea looks promising.
BY MARIEKE PLOEGMAKERS R
The algae-resid- ual flows cannot be added to chicken feed without further processing. Otherwise digestion could be disrupted.
esearchers from the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) are conduct- ing a study on how residual flows from algae pro- duction for human consumption can deliver value
in chicken feed. The study is part of ValgOrize, a project that promotes algae as food for humans in Europe. In this project several studies involve examining residual flows. Some prod- uct remains after extracting the nutrients from microalgae and after centrifuging macroalgae to dry it. According to re- searchers at ILVO, the remaining biomass contains valuable nutrients, which make it suitable for animal production. Jo- han De Boever, feed evaluation expert at ILVO puts it this way: “It’s important to investigate how the addition of this re- sidual product could affect chickens (and other animals). When algae cultivation in Europe becomes more mainstream, which is the goal of this project, we need to know if this can and should become a valuable solution for the residual flows, and more importantly, how we can best achieve this valorisa- tion.” The application of algae in animal feed seems promis- ing, since many algae species have a high protein content
and they can also be beneficial for the fatty acid and amino acid composition of the eggs, and can even influence the col- our of the yolk. However, before feeding algae residues on the farm, it’s important to study the amino acid and fatty acid composition, the digestibility of the feed and the taste of the end product, according to De Boever.
Efficiently adding algae residuals The ILVO feeding trials will run throughout the duration of the ValgOrize project. So far, three species of algae have been tested in three different trials, in both laying hens and broil- ers, but concrete results are still awaiting the completion of all the analyses, states ILVO in a press release. The main objec- tive of the researchers is to investigate how to efficiently add algae-residual products to animal feed in order to make the practice interesting and beneficial for the animals and their fi- nal products. According to ILVO, this will largely depend on the composition of the different types of algae and, based on this, the final composition of the feed itself. Certain studies recommend a maximum share of 10% algae in the feed. ILVO is now researching those optimal proportions. The research- ers are convinced of the potential of the algae feed. Johan Robbens (ILVO), coordinator of the ValgOrize project, points out that “if you look at the composition of certain types of mi- croalgae, compared to other, more conventional European food and feed sources (Table 1, see below), you can see that the protein, carbohydrate and fat content of the algae is just
14 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 6, 2020
PHOTO: JAN WILLEM SCHOUTEN
PHOTO: HENK RISWICK
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