NEWS Alternative Proteins Magazine October 2024 63 Shrimp have an innate immune system but no adaptive immune system, meaning they cannot be vaccinated. To make shrimp more resistant to diseases, their immune systems must be stimulated periodically or constantly with separately added compounds. Enifer points out that PEKILO®Aqua already includes immune-enhancing compounds like beta-glucan and nucleotides, which makes it a great feed for disease-prone shrimp as they can build immune cells faster without damaging the shrimp’s energy reserves. The results also showed that PEKILO®Aqua contributes to improved shrimp growth without an increase in feed intake. Additionally, in addition to nucleotides, PEKILO®Aqua contains another shrimp growth-enhancing compound, spermine. Read more>> Nofima, a leading food research institute that conducts research and development for the aquaculture industry, the fishing industry and the food industry, examined consumers' beliefs and thoughts regarding salmon. Katerina Kousoulaki, a senior scientist at Nofima, is currently leading a project aimed at creating sustainable salmon feed from algae and insect meal. In the future, the salmon industry will require a greater diversity in sustainable raw materials which are beneficial to both salmon and the environment than current options, and microalgae and insects are promising raw materials. This is why Kousoulaki has been listening in on focus groups where French consumers of salmon have discussed their beliefs and thoughts. “The respondents loved eating salmon, but did not know much about the fish,” says Kousoulaki. “My impression is that we need to educate the consumers.” It turns out that consumers know very little about Norwegian salmon. What's more, they think they “know” several things that are in fact wrong. “Everyone was sure that farmed salmon contains lots of antibiotics – which is not correct. They like to eat salmon, but they don’t know much about how it is produced,” she states. According to Kousoulaki, when the existing knowledge is lacking, it makes it even more challenging to talk about feed with new raw materials. “If you ask people what salmon eat in the wild, many will answer ‘algae’ and ‘shrimp’. However, salmon don’t eat algae, and they don’t eat much shrimp, either. They mainly feed on fish, and upriver they feed on insects,” Katerina Kousoulaki explains. “Many of the surveyed consumers had a positive attitude towards using algae in fish feed, but did not think that insects were a natural food for the salmon.” François Saulais in the multinational retail group Auchan is tasked with selling Norwegian salmon to French consumers. “Our customers’ knowledge about the products they buy is not as good as we would like. This does not come as a surprise to us; the only surprise is that more people than we thought believe that fish farmers use antibiotics and growth hormones, a misconception we need to address,” concludes Saulais. Read more>> Nofima: Consumers distrust use of insects and microalgae in salmon feed
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