Veramaris®: Sustainably farmed salmon

Description

Veramaris produces omega-3 fatty acids for animal nutrition from microalgae. It has pioneered ground-breaking technology to deliver an algal oil with high levels of both EPA & DHA Omega-3, free from contaminants. Veramaris’ algal oil technology for salmon feed is a more environmentally sustainable alternative to fish oil, and it delivers superior taste, texture, color and nutritional benefits. Just one ton of algal oil helps preserve 60 tons of wild fish in the oceans, which would otherwise have been caught to produce fish oil.

Partners involved

Evonik and DSM, with the collaboration of the entire aquaculture value chain, from feed millers and fish farmers to processors and retailers.

Impact

30% of Norwegian farmed salmon is now being fed on diets partly containing algae and much of that comes from Veramaris. French supermarket Match saw a 12% growth in its salmon category following the introduction of sustainable salmon raised on a diet which included Veramaris’ algal oil. TESCO, Auchan, Kaufland and Cora are other examples of retailers that proactively adopted algae fed salmon.

Barriers

Veramaris’ team had to address questions and concerns about this innovative product and how it compared to traditional ingredients. A sequence of trials had to be made to demonstrate Veramaris’ safety, performance and the efficacy of the feed ingredient when fed to the target animals. Several stakeholders throughout the value chain have collaborated to build trust in the ingredient, the operational stability and the robustness of the supply chain. A series of ISO compliant, critically-reviewed life-cycle assessment studies were conducted to demonstrate the sustainability of the algal oil product.