As part of this initiative, Skretting Ecuador, part of Dutch animal nutrition company Nutreco, will produce a new feed that will partially replace fishmeal with Protix’s insect meal, made from black soldier fly larvae, while partially replacing the fish oil with Veramaris’ MSC/ASC is -certified algae oil – a fortifying source of the essential omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, necessary for the health and performance of farmed shrimp.
100 percent of the remaining marine ingredients will come from seafood processing by-products, and all will be traceable back to MarinTrust-accredited fisheries in Ecuador. Additionally, the soy in the feed will come from deforestation-free and land-conversion-free sources, making the feed offering a significant improvement in terms of environmental responsibility compared to most traditional shrimp feeds on the market today.
This feed is used by Klaas Puul’s suppliers in Latin America to produce sustainable shrimp for Albert Heijn – the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands – and in the future possibly other retailers in dedicated ponds in Latin America.
“This is an exciting moment for Klaas Puul, which is taking its role in the shrimp supply chain to the next level by helping global retail organizations meet their environmental sustainability ambitions. Working with partners like Nutreco/Skretting, Veramaris and Protix shows us how instrumental we can be in bringing more sustainable shrimp products to consumers across Europe,” said Alan Dale, CEO of Sykes Seafood and Ruskim in the UK and Klaas Puul in the Netherlands.
“This initiative is a great example of how we are putting our goal of Feeding the Future into action. Working closely with Nutreco’s Sustainability Director, José Villalón, Skretting Ecuador will deliver one of the most sustainably farmed shrimp feeds on the market today. This will help us achieve our 2025 Sustainability Roadmap targets and in particular ensure that 5-10 percent novel ingredients are included in feed formulations. We are proud to be part of this value chain collaboration that will provide end users with a sustainable solution,” said Carlos Miranda, General Manager of Skretting-Ecuador.
Over time, the consortium aims to increase containment rates of insect meal and algal oil, and explore other options to further reduce reliance on marine ingredients. The consortium will also guarantee that all shrimp are produced from non-removed brood stock and are ASC certified.
For Albert Heijn, this project fits in perfectly with his ever-growing sustainability ambitions. It recently set a more ambitious target to reduce supply chain greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3): from a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to a 45 percent reduction by 2030 (with a 2018 baseline).
