Evonik launches AQUAVI® Met-Met for aquaculture feeds in Asia-Pacific

• A feed additive specially designed for the aqua industry
• New product from Evonik to increase efficiency and sustainability of crustacean aquaculture
• Product available mid of 2016

Evonik presents in the Asia-Pacific region its latest product AQUAVI® Met-Met, a dipeptide of two DL-methionine molecules which is used as an aquaculture feed additive, during a press conference in Indonesia today.

AQUAVI® Met-Met is the first peptide specially developed for the aqua industry as it has low water solubility and therefore the leaching of the feed nutrients can be minimized. This is especially important for aqua feeds as shrimp and prawns are bottom feeders with different feeding habits and digestive systems, feed pellets and extrudates must be stable in the water to ensure the dipeptide breaks down and methionine becomes available for protein synthesis at exactly the right time.

“With AQUAVI® Met-Met we’re extending our range of feed amino acids for animal nutrition to include another specialty with high value for our customers. This further strengthens our position as a market and technology leader.” said Dr. Reiner Beste, Chairman of the Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH Board of Management.

“In AQUAVI® Met-Met we’re offering a cost-efficient and sustainable solution also for shrimp and crustacean farming,” said Dr. Emmanuel Auer, Head of the Animal Nutrition Business Line at Evonik. “Asia Pacific as the home of aquaculture, has the largest population in the world, with the raising demand for seafood, we can see the pressure on aquaculture to increase productivity in this region and this appears to us to be vitally important.”

In 2015, no less than half of the fish, crustaceans, and shellfish consumed globally originated from aquaculture. Fishmeal being part of the feed as a protein source is a significant cost factor for farmers. Supplementation with amino acids allows significant reduction of the proportion of fishmeal in feeds, as Evonik has already demonstrated for fish farming. In addition, Evonik contributes to improved sustainability and conservation of biodiversity.

But shrimp and crustaceans have totally different feeding habits and digestive systems than, for example, fish, with AQUAVI® Met-Met, the dipeptide of DL-methionine which has extremely low water solubility, feed formulation can be preserved in the water and enhanced in the gut. As feeding trials in many countries have shown, AQUAVI® Met-Met is more than twice as efficient as DL-methionine. This increases the efficiency and sustainability of shrimp farming.

AQUAVI® Met-Met has already been registered as a feed additive in many countries, with more to follow. The new methionine source will initially be available for shrimp and crustaceans but its efficiency is currently being tested for other species.

Evonik translates over 60 years of experience in manufacturing essential amino acids for animal nutrition into solutions that meet the evolving needs of its customers worldwide. As Evonik now expands its scope to innovative nutritional feed additive solutions beyond amino acids, customers can count on Evonik to take nutrient effectiveness ever further and keep delivering value along with consistent quality. Around the planet, Evonik products and services are and will continue to be key to producing healthy, affordable food with fewer natural resources and a smaller environmental footprint.