New York-based food company buys fish meal replacement technology
Critics of the activity of farming carnivorous fish like salmon and trout often use the argument that this form of aquaculture represents a threat to the stocks of small pelagic fish like anchovetas and sand eels, as they are used to make fish meal for an ever-increasing industry. But while the world-wide production of farmed salmon and trout has increased considerably in recent years, the harvest rate of these forage fish has not increased accordingly, mainly due to the improvement in feed manufacturing technology and better digestibility.
But due to the sustainable supply of naturally produced fish meal and fish oil being a finite value, additional supplies of fish meal and oil substitutes must be found that meet the dietary requirement of the fish, while at the same time resulting in a product that has the same health-promoting qualities of conventionally produced fish like salmon and trout.
This fact is likely a driving force behind today’s announcement by Bunge, a leading global agribusiness and food company that it has purchased substantially all of the assets, including the patent portfolio, of MCN BioProducts Inc. (“MCN”), a privately-held Canadian technology company; MCN was formed by David Maenz, Henry Classen and Rex Newkirk, University of Saskatchewan researchers, to develop new products from canola. The Company proceeded to develop a unique, patented process to manufacture value-added canola-based ingredients for the aquaculture and animal feed industries. Todd Lahti, President & CEO of MCN said, "We have taken this technology from the lab bench to the processing floor and proven the commercial value of our new canola-based products. The time is right to pass it on to a major processor with worldwide operations. Bunge has the processing and distribution expertise and infrastructure to maximize the technology's potential in a commercial setting."
The announcement by Bunge continued; Assets purchased include intellectual property related to the conversion of canola and rapeseed meals into nutritionally dense protein concentrates that can replace both fish meal and vegetable protein concentrates in animal diets, including aquaculture. Miguel Oliveira, Executive Director, Bunge Global Innovation, said, “Animal nutrition continues to evolve and requires innovative products that deliver value in sustainable ways. MCN’s technology opens up opportunities for Bunge to provide protein alternatives in markets where we already operate, as well as in new ones. Importantly, the new concentrates are produced via a patented enzymatic water-based process that can be added to an existing canola and rapeseed crushing plant without affecting oil quality or yield. As a global agribusiness and food company, Bunge has the right operational expertise and asset network to successfully commercialize this process and leverage it in our core businesses in the years to come.”
