Cooke works quickly on new recipe
The salmon farmer has collaborated with a local company to rapidly develop and certify feed for its organic fish in Chile, ending its need to ship supplies from Scotland
Chilean fish feed maker Salmofood has announced its development of an organic certified feed for Cooke Aquaculture Chile.
The locally-produced “RAW” diet, developed in collaboration with Canadian-owned Cooke, replaces organic feed that had been shipped from Cooke’s Northeast Nutrition feed mill in Invergordon, Scotland.
Salmofood, part of Latin American fish and shrimp feed producer Vitapro, said the combined expertise of its and Cooke’s employees enabled the formulation, preparation, and certification of the RAW diet in record time.
As a result, Salmofood’s Castro plant is the first certified facility in Chile to produce organic salmon feed in accordance with European Union regulations.
Collaborative work
Francisco Valdés, commercial manager of Vitapro Chile, said: "The development of this nutritional solution for Cooke Aquaculture's organic crops is a clear example of our commitment to providing effective, cutting-edge responses. We are proud to have taken on this challenge and are very pleased with the results of this collaborative work with an international salmon farmer which prioritises sustainability and superior performance of its fish."
Eduardo Suazo, key account manager and export officer for Salmofood, said the certification involved adoption of a new work model, improvements in the storage and handling of supplies, specialised training for the Salmofood team, and the application of strict protocols that reinforce the company’s commitment to quality and sustainability.
"Considering that we already had the ASC Feed, Global G.A.P., BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) and RTRS Chain of Custody (Round Table on Responsible Soy) certifications, we were prepared to be able to face any audit process, which allowed us to materialise the project much faster and more efficiently," he said.
Breaking paradigms
Cooke Chile technical manager Eduardo Jara said the collaboration with Salmofood began in October last year, and that Cooke has been able to feed its organic fish with RAW feed since the beginning of 2025.
"The virtuous collaboration we achieved with Salmofood is truly remarkable. We generated an interdisciplinary work where the experience of our companies was coordinated to achieve a common goal: design the diet, acquire the raw materials, prepare the food and certify it for our organic crops in Chile. The process was a permanent challenge, but together we managed to overcome the obstacles to obtain the expected product,” said Jara.
"It was a challenging process, but the ability to break paradigms and work as a single team allowed us to conclude successfully, thus marking a milestone in our sector in terms of collaboration, strategic vision and real sustainability for the industry in Chile.”
