Perstorp: Pioneering animal health development through organic acid solutions

by Ngai Meng CHAN

 

 

Today, many of Perstorp's customers are in a transition phase, where they are facing pressure from consumers and NGOs for a phase out of antibiotics in feed applications. The challenge is to offer solutions which facilitate a successful transfer into the new antibiotic-free era, which Perstorp is at the frontier.

 

Even before feed is consumed by the animal, the storage time of feed (or feed grain) can be greatly prolonged by adding an organic acid-based mould inhibitor such as the ones in Perstorp's ProSidTM range. Feeding with high quality material that contains high nutritional value and little mycotoxin contamination is also essential to good health and nutrition of the animal. With proper preservation, moulds that produce mycotoxins that reduce animal performance and welfare are never formed, highlights Oddshammar.

Another Perstorp product range for poultry, swine, ruminants and aquaculture, ProPhorceTM, is aimed at multiple stages of animal husbandry, such as feed, and both the upper and lower parts of the intestines. ProPhorceTM inhibits microorganisms by improving feed digestibility and animal gut health.

The first product trials of acidifiers based on lactic acid and formic acid were conducted by Perstorp in the late 1990's. At about the same time, the company discovered the synergistic effect of organic acids with certain essential oils. The result was the launch of the cost effective acidifier solution, the ProPhorceTM PH product line, in 2002.

These developments were followed by the investment in new plants for formic acid and propionic acid in 2005, and the 2007 launch of a safer formic acid solution, ProPhorceTM AC 600.

"We have over the last couple of years made and will continue to make significant investments exclusively for gut health and preservation, two fields where we believe Perstorp has a distinct advantage over its competition, today based on ProPhorceTM SR and ProSidTM MI 700," says Oddshammar.

Based on a new gut health concept, the high-concentration butyric acid product ProPhorceTM SR was launched in 2012.

This next-generation product consists of odourless butyrins which are glycerol esters of butyric acid, and have no residual butyric acid odour.

 

Butyrins undergo a similar digestion as oils and fats, being broken down in the intestinal tract by lipases. These enzymes are produced by the pancreas and are active in the small intestine. Lipases split off free fatty acids from glycerol molecules, in this case the highly valuable butyric acid. The butyric acid is thus released and delivered where it is most effective.

As for ProSidTM MI 700, it is a non-ADR, highly concentrated preservative for grains and other feed crops, with a unique formulation containing long-term acting propionic acid glycerol esters.

Apart from developing new products, Perstorp has always paid attention to how local variations in feed grain and by-products impact the performance of its products, according to Oddshammar.

"This year we have made a great number of local performance trials to ensure our products' performance under different conditions and to further adopt products when needed to suit local needs. In addition we have recently started to research the nutritional value of the solutions that we offer. The studies conducted so far show very promising results and will soon be part of our product offerings."

More broadly speaking, Perstorp is helping to educate the feed milling industry about the efficacy of the various NGP products in the market, with its specialised global portfolio teams which provide a high standard of technical support worldwide. The company also regularly participates in scientific conferences, educational webinars, and actively contributes to scientific publications.

"More importantly we work directly together with our customers to train and educate them about the benefits of using the new generation of acidifiers as a means to reduce antibiotic use. The general response we receive from our customers is that we deliver what we promise," stresses Oddshammar.

According to her, in Europe, the feed industry's attitude towards NGP products has changed dramatically in the past decade. In Asia and the Americas, the change has until recently been fairly slow. To support the increased demand for acidifiers, Perstorp expanded its production capacity in 2014.

"Lately we have seen a steep increase in questions from these markets on how to deal with the transition to less antibiotics in feed. We benefit a lot from the European experience and are able to bring it to our markets globally.

We expect drastic changes to occur in mature feed markets such as the United States, quicker than in the less developed markets, but the speed greatly depends on the demand from global players in the food chain, potential legislative initiatives, and pressure from institutes such as the World Health Organisation to introduce antibiotic- free production methods.

We believe that companies such as McDonalds, KFC and Tesco will be the main drivers to make change happen. This differs from the European situation where governments have a larger role in the change process."

As of this year Perstorp is also offering some of its key products in the US, a market that it hasn't entered before with its feed additives.

In other growth markets such as China, Southeast Asia and South America, the company is focusing on its next-generation products based on esterification technology.

For instance, Perstorp recently entered the Chinese market with ProPhorceTM SR, but not first without much careful deliberation.

"We have deliberately been very cautious entering the Chinese market, given that we know from other products in the Perstorp portfolio how much time and effort it really takes if you want to launch a new brand in a new country.

Now we are ready though and have the muscles to enter the market. Next year we will expand our product offerings.

The Chinese market is still in a virgin state if you look at the application of commonly-used acidifiers. We truly believe that we can help educate and move the market forward with the knowledge that we bring from being 50 years in the industry."

Oddshammar reveals more of the company's future plans. "For gut health we hope to prelaunch our next-generation product line in 2016. Our hope is to have it fully commercialised in 2017."

This new product line is based on years of research and will just like ProPhorceTM SR positively impact animal gut health.

"We are also screening and testing for solutions to improve colon health. For preservation we are focused on bringing products to the market that are safer to handle and which offer good product stability under different conditions.

The esterifying technique we believe is a good base to continue to build upon in the development of these new solutions. We are currently testing many new molecules and the first results are very promising," Oddshammar says with much optimism.

Perstorp is also at the forefront in the new era of sustainable agriculture and animal welfare. Globally the company is working closely together with some of the most renowned universities and institutes in order to find new answers to reduce consumer risk, improve animal health while increasing livestock profitability.

"As a Swedish company we have a long tradition in focusing on sustainability and safety. Many of our products are certified for organic farming and we were amongst the first companies in our industry to strictly follow the CLP regulation (EU). As part of our product development efforts we also strive to create products that are safe to both people and animals," Oddshammar highlights.