Ingredients and formulation

We continuously seek to improve the aqua feeds we sell. Our foundation of research and development enables us to enhance the performance and environmental impact of our existing feeds through feed formulation, raw materials sourcing, and feed production, while also working to unlock novel ingredients and new products.

 

Raw materials

Our ambition is to use our leverage as one of the largest global feed producers to responsibly source raw materials – including both marine and terrestrial ingredients. For marine raw materials, we are focused on increasing our supply from certified sources and credible Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs – see below). For terrestrial raw materials, our efforts are centered on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and impacts to ecosystems and biodiversity.

Read our latest performance update for the most recent data on our raw material use.

 

Novel ingredients

To help meet the growing need for more sustainable feeds, we are constantly developing novel ingredients. This includes leaning on Cargill’s own innovation capabilities and knowledge of animal health and performance, while also partnering with novel raw material suppliers for both proteins and oils. We have been at the forefront of discovering, commercializing, and scaling these types of ingredients, including pioneering work with algal oil, soy protein concentrates, single-cell proteins, insect proteins, and camelina oil.

 

Circular economy

Creating a more sustainable aquaculture sector drives us to put circularity at the center of our thinking. In our aqua feeds, we seek to use ingredients derived from other food production sources, known as co-products. For marine ingredients, our work in circularity has focused on increasing the use of fish co-products such as trimmings. We seek to source these marine ingredients from a range of origins and species to increase their use while meeting our customers’ requirements for nutrition and cost.

We also use a variety of terrestrial ingredients and work with our suppliers as much as possible to process materials that were traditionally considered waste or co-products and recapture nutrients back into human food chains. For example, we use certain lower-value co-products like rice bran or wheat gluten, which are generated during the processing of rice and wheat for direct human consumption. This helps to reduce the overall environmental impact of our feed and recaptures important nutrients that would otherwise be lost to the food chain.

 

 

Ingredients from certified sources

Sourcing from certified suppliers and credible Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) is a key contributor to our sustainability approach. We work with several FIPs, certification programs, and research initiatives to develop a steady supply of more sustainable ingredients.

 

 

 

Read more about how we work with FIPs here, and visit this page to learn about the range of certifications we use for both marine and terrestrial ingredients.

 

Formulation

While we strive to continuously improve the sustainability of the ingredients we use for our customers' feeds, market fluctuations in availability and price make it essential that we maintain flexibility in our formulation. This is where our formulation expertise and technical capabilities play a vital role. We have extensive databases and models that serve as the foundation for producing aqua feeds with high biological value from a range of ingredients. It helps us deliver nutritionally optimized, more sustainable feed as the market for raw materials continually changes.

Cargill’s dual role as a raw material producer and feed producer also positions us to help our customers consider tradeoffs that come with different ingredient and formulation choices. For instance, many of our customers and other stakeholders are focused on reducing the carbon footprint of feed ingredients. Marine ingredients like fishmeal and fish oil may offer some of the lowest footprints available, but if we draw exclusively from them, we may risk overtaxing key fishery resources.

Likewise, we can focus on reducing the footprint of aqua feed as much as possible, but feed still needs to perform at a high level to keep fish strong and help them reach their full potential. Otherwise, we could risk using more resources to grow smaller fish that produce less protein for human consumption. In this pursuit of balance and optimization, we work with customers to find the best possible set of answers for their specific context.