February 9, 2011

US study shows new soymeal sources as good fishmeal alternatives

A new US research has recommended that fermented soymeal and enzyme-treated soymeal may replace fishmeal in weanling pig diets.

"The price of fishmeal has exploded and is causing producers to search for new options for weanling pig diets. Pigs are traditionally fed diets containing relatively large amounts of animal proteins such as fishmeal from weaning up to 40 pounds when they can digest traditional soybean meal," said Hans H. Stein of the University of Illinois.

The fermentation and enzyme treatment process helps remove some of the antigens found in traditional soymeal and other compounds that are not easily digested by weanling pigs. Stein said these new sources of soymeal might be the answer producers are looking for to keep costs down without sacrificing digestibility of important amino acids.

"In our study, we measured the digestibility of amino acids in these two new sources of soybean meal in comparison to fishmeal, casein and soy protein isolate. We observed that enzyme-treated soybean meal has even better digestibility of amino acids than conventional soybean meal. It appears the enzyme treatment increases digestibility. Fermented soybean meal has the same digestibility as standard soybean meal, so we now know that fermentation doesn't reduce digestibility," Stein said.

"With the high cost of fishmeal and concerns about its future availability, I believe these are two good options for weanling pig diets. They are comparable in digestibility to soy protein isolate, the gold standard protein source that is only used in human nutrition," added Stein.