Shrimp fed Calysta’s FeedKind protein allegedly have equivalent or higher survival and growth than those on a standard diet.
Calysta recently concluded a trial in which post-larvae Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were fed a commercially representative control diet containing fishmeal as a primary source of protein.
Josh Silverman, Calysta founder and chief product and innovation officer, said: “…this trial demonstrates FeedKind’s potential to improve the diets in some of the world’s most challenging aquaculture species.
“These results show that FeedKind protein can significantly improve current aquaculture feeds, producing comparable or better results while reducing the overall environmental footprint and improving traceability and quality control in the supply chain.”
Test diets
Test diets were prepared where non-animal derived FeedKind protein replaced up to 100% of the fishmeal in the diet on a one-for-one basis.
The animals were fed either the control or a test diet for eight weeks in a controlled environment. At the end of the study, shrimp survival was significantly improved in all FeedKind diets (93-97%) compared to the control diet (84%).
Improved shrimp weight
The total shrimp weight in all FeedKind diet groups was also shown to be equivalent to or improved versus the control fishmeal diet.
The trial, performed at Auburn University in the US, in conjunction with Texas A&M University, is Calysta’s first study in warm water aquaculture.
Calysta said that FeedKind has been shown to use 77-98% less water and 98% less land than alternative ingredients such as soy or wheat proteins.
