NEWS 16 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2024 Innovafeed, a global leader in the production of insect ingredients for high-quality animal feed, pet food and plant nutrition, inaugurated its North American Insect Innovation Center (NAIIC) in Decatur, Illinois on the 18th of April. This pilot plant is the first step of the rising French agtech’s industrial expansion to North America and aims to scale up production and commercialization of insect protein in the USA. Innovafeed breeds Hermetia illucens, also known as black soldier flies, in state-of-the-art indoor farms, while efficiently repurposing agricultural by-products from its strategic partner, ADM, in a pioneering zero-waste framework. This innovative process yields insect meal, oil, and soil amendment, which Innovafeed markets under the brand Hilucia™. According to ADM, the inauguration of NAIIC will be a milestone in Innovafeed’s expansion in North America. The choice of Decatur, Illinois, is not coincidental: located in the heart of the corn belt adjacent to ADM’s North American headquarters and the world’s largest corn mill operations, with hundreds of processing plants across multiple States, the region offers high potential for multiple sites to be deployed in the future. The broader area is also a historical innovation hub for the agro-industry, making it a strategic location for Innovafeed to serve its core markets. Since 2023, the company in partnership with ADM, already has commercialized Hilucia™ insect ingredients for the pet food market in North America. As part of this effort, ADM has invested in a comprehensive R&D study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with results to be released later this year demonstrating the nutritional and health benefits of its ingredients. Future opportunities with other types of animal feed are also being explored as part of the comprehensive partnership between the two companies. “We are thrilled to partner with A recently published study conducted by LABOMAR (the Marine Sciences Institute in NE Brazil), Spring Genetics Tilapia in Miami, and Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS concluded that krill meal in the diet positively impacted reproductive performance of Nile tilapia and the quality and quantity of offspring. Krill meal has emerged as a nutrient-rich and sustainable marine ingredient for aquaculture feeds – a source of phospholipids, high quality marine protein, high levels of omega-3 fatty acids: EPA and DHA, and astaxanthin, all of which are known to be beneficial for the growth and health of fish. Tilapia is the second most farmed fish in aquaculture, and producers are seeking high quality offspring to improve their overall production. In the present study, scientists specifically assessed how varying levels of krill meal in the Nile tilapia diet influenced factors such as spawning, egg quantity and quality, and survival of larvae. “Through previous studies, we’ve learned that lipids and essential fatty acids can have a positive effect on reproductive performance of fish. Traditionally, farmers have included fishmeal and fish oil in the feed to meet these needs, but due to growing scarcity and fluctuating costs, more sustainable and effective ingredients are needed, and here krill meal could be a part of the solution to fill the gap,” says Kiranpreet Kaur, Director R&D, Fish Health & Nutrition, Aker BioMarine. Read more>> Innovafeed opens its Insect Innovation Center in US New study: Krill meal diet positively impacts reproduction in Nile tilapia
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