Latitude, a plant-based feed for aquaculture manufactured by Cargill, will likely be available for commercial use by 2020, the company told SeafoodSource.
The product just received the okay for commercialization from the United States Department of Agriculture, which reviewed it through a risk assessment. The agency “no longer considers it a regulated GM crop,” Mark Christiansen, managing director for Cargill’s specialty oils business, told SeafoodSource.
“This allows Cargill’s sustainable, plant-based alternative to omega-3 fish oil to be grown commercially in the U.S.A,” he said.
Made from canola, Latitude is a source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids for salmon farmers.
“Commercial fish feed producers can now have a reliable supply and predictably priced, alternative source of omega-3. It will provide a reliable, alternative source of omega-3 to alleviate the pressure on fish oil, which is produced from oily fish caught in the wild,” Christiansen said.
Cargill has been growing canola used in Latitude in regulated test plots in Montana. With the regulatory clearance from the USDA, the canola will initially be grown in Montana in a stewarded close-loop program.
“As key market approvals are obtained, the program will expand to other states and Canada,” Christiansen said.
Cargill’s goal is to get seed planted for commercial use by 2020, once its U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency assessments are completed.
“We know there is market interest in, and demand for, this product,” Christiansen said.
Fresh and saltwater feed trials have shown that 100 percent of fish oil can be replaced with Latitude in commercial salmon feed with no effect on salmon’s growth rates, health or content of omega-3 in its fillet, according to Christiansen.
Photo courtesy of Cargill
