Feed technology
We are focusing in particular on the development and utilisation of technology that can result in increased exploitation of today's marine feed raw materials. The feed requires a good physical quality in order to ensure transport from the factory and feeding at the sea cages.
The various feedstuffs have different characteristics during feed production and this poses a challenge in producing good pellet quality. The physical pellet quality also influences the nutritional quality. Nofima is studying what significance the pellet's hardness has for the fish's utilisation of the nutrients.
Feed formulation
Nofima has also had a central role in the development of new feed concepts aimed at existing and new farmed fish species.
Within feed development, the focus is on development of larvae feed and grow-out feed for new marine aquaculture species. Knowledge about the importance of the composition of raw materials for optimal growth, feed utilisation and quality of edible fish will be secured through basic studies.
The institute’s areas of priority within processing and feed raw materials are production of fishmeal, oils and feed from plankton and by-products. The removal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from oils and meals is an important area.
Feeding technology
In intensive aquaculture, large quantities of feed need to be transported out to the fish farms. A cage containing 300 tonnes of fish requires around three tonnes of feed per day, which places demands on feeding equipment. Further, the feeding regime (frequency and meal size) influences the fish's feed intake and growth.
All feeding on Norwegian fish farms is automated, which leads to the breakage of a certain proportion of the feed pellets. The fish do not eat small particles, so this represents a loss. In order to keep these losses to a minimum, it is important that the fish farmer adjusts the feeding equipment so the pellets are handled as gently as possible. Further, the feed must be of a high physical quality to ensure transport and handling. However, Nofima has proven that this physical quality influences the nutritional quality.
A proportion of Nofima’s activity within feed formulation and feed technology takes place at the Aquaculture Protein Centre (APC), of which we are a part. APC is a Norwegian Centre of Excellence.
The Feed Technology Centre
Nofima’s state-of-the-art pilot production plant for feed carries out customised pilot trials and feed production.
A pilot plant to produce extruded products was installed in 1990.
A host of research projects have been carried out that focus on variations in the feed raw materials’ physical and chemical properties and its significance on pellet strength, water stability, degree of expansion, bulk density and fat absorption ability.
The development of protein-based binding agents and the control of binding properties has been an area of strategic importance.
Studies have also been carried out on the stability of the components in nutrients during the extrusion process.
The pilot plant has undergone several upgrades and is today a state-of-the-art processing line.
The Feed Technology Centre also features a modern laboratory to test raw materials and the end products. See the link to the right.
