Nutreco and Skretting were awarded for the MicroBalance FLX product, a salmon feed without fishmeal.

Nutreco and Skretting receive award for Sustainability Product Innovation

Nutreco and Skretting received the edie award in the category of Sustainability Product Innovation of the Year, for an innovative concept developed by Skretting, Nutreco’s aqua division.

The winning product is Skretting’s MicroBalance FLX, a feed for salmon containing zero fishmeal, which is a result of three decades of research conducted by the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC).

ARC researchers have been exploring the potential for alternative raw materials to replace traditional, finite, marine-based feed components, while ensuring the growth, health and final nutritional qualities that consumers expect from their seafood.

Comprising indoor and outdoor facilities, Skretting land-based fish and shrimp research stations enable us to closely monitor and control environmental conditions in order to conduct precise experiments on their latest formulations with a variety of aquaculture species. To ensure they fully meet the local needs and challenges of the industry, Skretting have established units in Norway, Italy, Spain, China and Japan.

“Marine ingredients like fishmeal are great ingredients for aquaculture feed, and it took a long time to fine-tune our understanding of the complexities in order to replace them,” said Alex Obach, Skretting R&D Director.

“We have considered, among other qualities of fishmeal, the nutritional profile, digestibility and content of functional micro-ingredients. Our research was carried out in a number of phases, first looking explicitly at the nutrient requirements of the fish, then evaluating alternative raw materials, undertaking digestive and metabolic research, before finally proving that by clever selection and formulation, we can optimise the feed for the fish with no fishmeal, without any compromise on growth, health or quality,” the Director explained.

“We are extremely happy to be recognised for a product that epitomises our company-wide mission of Feeding the Future,” said Jose Villalon, Nutreco Sustainability Director, who received the award in London together with Trygve Berg Lea, Skretting Sustainability Manager

“Innovation is the core of our values and Skretting’s MicroBalance FLX is a great example of how we can use this innovative mindset to play a part in resolving the looming global food crisis,” said Villalon.

For his part, Berg Lea stressed that “with aquaculture production required to more than double between now and 2050 to meet the demands of a growing population, Skretting is well aware that we need to reduce the pressure put on the planet’s resources.”

One of Skretting’s most significant sustainability objectives has been to develop the capability to become independent of fishmeal. MicroBalance FLX, launched in 2016, is the biggest breakthrough in this work to date, when Skretting became the first commercial company to offer grower diets for salmon containing zero fishmeal.

In addition to the Sustainable Product Innovation Award, Nutreco was also a finalist in two other categories in 2019, Sustainability Leader of the Year (Jose Villalon) and Sustainability Reporting and Communications.

The edie awards are organised by specialist sustainability publishing house Faversham House and began in 2007. The awards are open to businesses and organisations of all sizes across the public and private sectors.

As a winner, Nutreco joins an illustrious group of former winners, such as IKEA, Unilever, Heineken, Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

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