Company insight
mega-3 has been a staple of the ingredients sector for years. If nothing else, that’s reflected in the numbers: the global market for the fatty acids is currently worth $14bn, a figure expected to exceed $17bn by 2029. Yet amid this general buoyancy, Omega-3 preferences are in flux – as one Dutch manufacturer is vividly demonstrating. Since it rose to prominence in the 1970s, the market for Omega-3s has been inextricably linked with fish oils. As a rich source for Omega-3 fatty acids like DHA, it has a market share of about 60%. However, consumers have now started moving away from fish oils – a trend Jaap Peters partly attributes to the rise in contaminants in fish. As the CEO at Progress Biotech says, awareness that heavy metals such as arsenic and lead can accumulate in fish, and their fatty acids, is constantly rising. That’s especially true given the increasing prevalence of sophisticated analytical equipment – providing further evidence that cleaning up polluted fish oil is tough. Unsurprisingly, none of this appeals to consumers, particularly given the otherwise robust health benefits of DHA (and other fatty acids) in fields as varied as blood pressure and diabetes. That’s shadowed, explains Joris Geigenmüller, a scientific consultant at
Algae versus fish oils O
Progress Biotech, by broader environmental concerns. By their very nature, after all, fish oils must be extracted from living creatures. But these predators need to secure their own sources of Omega-3, usually from smaller fish like sardines. Taken together, Geigenmüller warns that it would “basically be very challenging or even impossible” to gather enough DHA from animal sources sustainably. Certainly, that’s bolstered by the numbers: a third of global fish stocks were overfished in 2017 alone, while 80% of the planet’s fisheries are depleted or otherwise unstable. Fortunately, solutions are available. Fundamentally, this is down to the DHA food chain. For if sardines provide Omega- 3 to salmon, the sardines take their fill from marine algae. As Peters dryly remarks, it therefore doesn’t take a Nobel Prize laureate to take the next logical step, remove contaminated fish oils from the equation altogether – and instead extract DHA oils directly from plants. That, in sum, is what Progress Biotech has done. Offering an array of DHA products – stemming from the algae species Schizochytrium and developed into oils, powders, infant formulas and more – this Dutch manufacturer has become one of the premier sustainable Omega-3 suppliers. Not that Peters and his team are relying
Fish oils have dominated the Omega-3 industry for years. Now, however, a new range of algae- based DHA products are promising change. Ingredients Insight talks to insiders at Progress Biotech to understand what these offerings mean for human consumption and the aquaculture market.
on the intrinsic benefits of algae over fish oil alternatives. For one thing, they’ve invested in an innovative mechanical extraction process, avoiding the use of solvents. From there – based out of a world-class Swiss manufacturing facility – they refine and concentrate their products to EU standards. This careful approach ensures that Progress
Biotech’s oils and powders are remarkably pure and stable, while their odourless, colourless nature makes them easy to integrate into other products, while handily avoiding the need for masking agents. In a similar vein, the company has also developed a new organic product. As the first such DHA offering in the world, Peters stresses it speaks to a market deeply concerned with sustainability. “It’s a movement,” he says, “where people want to make sure there’s no chemical trickery with our products.” Equally importantly, the CEO argues this trend dovetails with a broader appreciation for veganism, even among consumers who aren’t necessarily diehard vegans in their everyday lives. As Peters puts it: “You don’t have to be vegan to have a preference for plant-based products.” That’s supported by the numbers: in 2022 US households purchased more plant-based products compared to previous years.
This canny approach has seen Progress Biotech go from strength to strength: it now boasts exports to more than 20 countries. Just as importantly, the company’s focus on environmentalism has happy downstream consequences too. The latest work of Progress Biotech in the aquaculture market extends its positive environmental impact beyond human consumption. Switching to algae means less fish waste in sourcing the nutritional needs for aquaculture. Not bad for a company centred around humble marine algae. ●
Unicellular green algae. Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
www.progressbiotech.com 15
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