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EP-4081045-B1 - FISH FEED PELLETS LOADED WITH A MICROBIAL OIL

EP4081045B1EP 4081045 B1EP4081045 B1EP 4081045B1EP-4081045-B1

Inventors

  • CLASADONTE, Laure
  • HAGEMANN, Nicholas
  • PALAZOGLU KURK, Pelin

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20201215

Claims (6)

  1. A fish feed in the form of pellets, wherein the feed pellet is coated with a coating oil, characterized in that the coating oil comprises at least 10% w/w microbial oil, wherein the microbial oil is an algal oil, and wherein said algal oil comprises oleic acid (18:1n-9) in the range 0.28 - 229.15 g/kg feed, linoleic acid in the range 0.22 - 233.24 g/kg feed, alfa-linolenic acid in the range 0.28-225.06 g/kg, arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4 n-6) in the range 0,03 - 24.55 g/kg, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3) in the range 0.03 - 73.66 g/kg and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) in the range 0.03 - 73.66 g/kg.
  2. The fish feed pellet according to claim 1, wherein the feed pellet is an extruded feed pellet or a pressed feed pellet.
  3. The fish feed pellet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coating oil comprises 50% w/w microbial oil.
  4. The fish feed pellet according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said coating oil further comprises fish oil and/or one or more vegetable oil(s).
  5. The fish feed pellet according to claim 4, wherein the vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of rape seed oil, soy oil and camelina oil.
  6. A method of modulating the sedimentation or sinking speed of dry fish feed pellets characterized by admixing the coating oil with a variable ratio of at least two different oil-sources selected from microbial oil vegetable oil, and fish oil and wherein the variable ratio of said at least two different oil-sources is selected from a) Vegetable oil : Microbial oil 1:1; 2:1; 5:1; 10:1; 15:1; 20:1; 25:1; 1:2; 1:5 or 1:10, or b) Fish oil : Microbial oil 1:1; 2:1; 5:1; 10:1; 15:1; 20:1; 25:1; 1:2; 1:5 or 1:10.

Description

The present invention relates to a quick-sinking fish feed in the form of pellets, a process for preparing the same, as well as a process for increasing the sinking speed of fish feed, according to the appended claims. Breeding of fish, preferably salmonids, i.e. salmon of various kinds, takes place, after setting out, in open seawater. The fish is kept confined in large net bags, and fodder-ing takes place by feed pellets being distributed at regular intervals on the marked-off surface of water. The fish eats the feed pretty soon after the distribution, as a rule when the feed begins to sink. The size of the pellets depends on the size of the fish. Just after setting-out, in the so-called smolt stage, pellets having a diameter of about 2-3 mm are fed. The mesh size of the enclosing net is greater than the diameters of the pellets. The greater part of all fish feed is at present produced by so-called extrusion. Fish feed contains a large amount of protein and fat, since these nutritive substances are the best sources of energy for the fish. Fish feed may have, for instance, the following approximate contents of nutritive substances: ∘ 46% by weight protein∘ 26% by weight fat/oil∘ 12% by weight carbohydrates∘ 8% by weight ashes∘ 8% by weight water The ratio of protein to fat may vary depending on age and size of the fish to be fed. The fat content usually is slightly more than 30%. Fats are typically provided via incorporation of fish meals (which contain a minor amount of fish oil) and fish oils into the aquaculture feed compositions. Extracted oils that may be used in aquaculture feed compositions include fish oils (e.g., from the oily fish menhaden, anchovy, herring, capelin and cod liver), and vegetable oil (e.g., from soybeans, rapeseeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds). Typically, fish oil is the preferred oil, because it contains the long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ["PUFAs"], EPA and DHA; in contrast, vegetable oils do not provide a source of EPA and/or DHA. These PUFAs are needed for growth and health of most aquaculture products. A typical aquaculture feed composition will comprise from about 15-30% of oil (e.g., fish, vegetable, etc.), measured as a weight percent of the aquaculture feed composition. The protein supplied in aquaculture feed compositions can be of plant or animal origin. For example, protein of animal origin can be from marine animals (e.g., fish meal, fish oil, fish protein, krill meal, mussel meal, shrimp peel, squid meal, squid oil, etc.) or land animals (e.g., blood meal, egg powder, liver meal, meat meal, meat and bone meal, silkworm, pupae meal, whey powder, etc.). Protein of plant origin can include soybean meal, corn gluten meal, wheat gluten, cottonseed meal, canola meal, sunflower meal, rice and the like. Feed pellets (such as aquatic feed pellets) according to the present invention may be extruded pellets. The extruded feed pellets may be produced by the following method. A method of providing an extruded feed pellet, said method comprising the steps of: a) grinding and/or mixing of at least a carbohydrate source, a protein source, a lipid source, ash, water and optionally one more ingredients selected from the group consisting of fish meal, krill meal, soya concentrate, corn gluten, wheat gluten, pea protein, wheat flour, fish oil, a vitamin, mineral premix, mineral premix plus synthetic phosphorus and combinations thereof into a powder mixture,b) homogenizing the mixture in (a) until a paste is formed;c) extruding the paste obtained in step (b) by an extrusion installation comprising a mold and a number of mixing and kneading zones, composed of a plurality of alternately forward and backward kneading screw elements;d) cutting of the extruded material into porous pellets of a suitable length when it exits the die;e) drying of the porous pellets;f) adding a composition with a coating oil to the pellets obtained in step (e) and adsorbing said oil into the porous pellet under vacuum, andg) cooling of the pellets, andh) obtaining a coated fish feed pellet. In preferred examples the final feed pellets comprises 10 to 40% w/w, for example 15 to 30% w/w coating oil. The coating oil currently used in the production of fish feed pellets is fish oil or a mixture of fish oil with vegetable oils. It is known that pellets, the diameter of which is < 4 mm, have difficulty in sinking, especially in the cold time of the year when the density of water is at its maximum. The reason why the feed does not sink is its low intrinsic weight and the too high surface tension. If the fish does not have time to catch the feed, the pellets will be moved by the waves of the sea through the meshes out into the free water. This is on the one hand an economic problem and, on the other hand, an environmental problem. NO Patent Specification 911,946 discloses a method of modulating the sedimentation speed of dry fish feed pellets by admixing to the pellets a surface-active agent, selected