March 16, 2006

US feeds company enters phytase market

JBS United, an agricultural company based in the US state of Indiana, is launching a new phytase enzyme.

The company says the enzyme, OptiPhos, produced from patented technology, helps animals digest phosphorous present in feed grains and also reduces phosphorus levels in manure, which in turn reduces the environmental impacts of using manure as a fertiliser.

OptiPhos is the only phytase product approved by the US Food and Drug Administration which has been developed and offered for sale by an American company.

Pigs and poultry lack the phytase enzyme necessary for the digestion of phosphorus. Only 20-30 percent of phosphorous in grain-based feeds is absorbed by the animal while the remaining 70-80 percent is passed along as waste. In order to supplement the animals' phosphorus requirements, producers have traditionally added inorganic phosphorus.

Phytase enzymes work by enabling animals to digest phosphorous. The company said OptiPhos is the most active phytase enzyme available as animals are able to obtain two to three times more phosphorus from their feed grain than other phytase products.

The company also said OptiPhos also reduces phosphorus levels in manure, which allows producers to limit the environmental impacts of using manure as a fertiliser. Less phosphorous in animal waste prevents an excess of phosphorous in the water supply which can lead to excessive plant growth in water and poorer water quality, said Kari Keller-Steele, Environmental Director for JBS United.

JBS United, Inc is a nutrition technology-based company involved in premix and base mix feed production and marketing, swine production and management, grain storage and marketing. Founded in 1956, it operates seven premix and base mix feed plants in the US, along with a premix and base mix plant in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China.