In an effort to reduce the use of antibiotics in the Chilean salmon farming industry, researchers in the South American country have developed and patented a biotechnology based on a marine bacteria that can slow the spread of certain salmon pathogens.
A University of Valparaiso team of scientists worked on the new product for eight years led by Dr. Alejandro Dinamarca who explained the technique is harmless to animals and human beings and it inhibits the communication between the pathogens that have plagued the salmon farming industry in Chile for many years.
The patented treatment is obtained from an indigenous marine bacteria from the coast and is being applied in the national salmon farming industry while the university is managing the production and commercial operating license for the new biotech.
Among one of the highlights of the solution is its ability to be added into the manufacturing process of fish feed. “This food additive developed in the university’s Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology… unlike antibiotics commonly used, in addition to not generate resistance, is non-toxic to fish farming and poses no harm to the environment, and these are their main advantages over the use of antibiotics,” Dinamarca explained.
Related on the SLP
Chilean salmon farmers reportedly use 400 times more antibiotics a year than producers in Norway. The concerns over such heavy usage has limited exports to consumers in North America and the European Union.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Chilean biotechnology replaces antibiotics
