For the first time in history, essential fatty acids used to feed salmon could be sourced from crops harvested on the Great Plains instead of from fish caught in the ocean.
Cargill … says it can transform technology developed by German chemical company BASF using algae genes to produce omega-3 bearing canola oil into a commercially viable product in less than five years, according to Lorin DeBonte, associate vice president of research and development at Cargill.
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Undercurrent News reported last month how Cargill had teamed up BASF to develop proprietary technology in taking genes bearing docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) fatty acids from algae and transplanting those to canola plants grown in Montana…
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Omega-3 is currently only found in fish, fungi or microalgae. Some other types of short-chain fatty acids are found in chia, flaxseed and walnuts, but not the long-chain variety that are highly regarded for their health benefits, DeBonte said.
The salmon industry has been encouraging its main fish feed suppliers and other industry groups to find substitutes for fish oil for their DHA and EPA needs because of a lack of availability.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Cargill sees mass-produced omega-3 canola oil by 2020
