Functional foods have become a hot topic in the food industry due to the push for healthier food products on supermarket shelves. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a functional food is defined as “A food that provides additional health benefits that may reduce disease risk and/or promote good health.” In short, functional foods provide added value to the consumer – more health benefits in each bite. Alltech has focused its research efforts on creating a new generation of functional foods like meat, eggs and milk naturally-enriched with DHA omega-3 fatty acids using algae.  

DHA, short for docosahexaenoic acid, is a long-chain fatty acid which is found in the tissues of salmon, mackerel and other fish. It is the only kind of omega-3 that’s efficiently absorbed and taken directly into the cell membranes, and is an essential nutrient that helps support brain, eye and heart health. 

Why is a balance of omega-6-to-omega-3 fatty acids so essential?

Although omega-6 (found in nuts, seeds, poultry, eggs and refined vegetable oils) and omega-3 (found in fish like salmon, mackerel and other fish oil supplements) are both classified as essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, they have opposite effects on the body. Omega-6 tends to promote inflammation, necessary in immune response, whereas omega-3 decreases inflammation, an important function in chronic disease prevention. While omega-6 fatty acids are an important part of a balanced diet to promote the immune system, an overabundance of them can contribute to an unhealthy dietary imbalance. That’s why it’s necessary for consumers to ensure they’re consuming a proper amount of omega-3 to balance the omega-6 often consumed in snack foods like cookies, crackers, desserts and fast food. However, Becky Timmons, global technical director of Alltech Algae, notes that fish and fish oil may no longer be the best source of DHA omega-3.

“Awareness is growing among American consumers on the importance of omega-3 fatty acids,” Timmons said. “They are learning that DHA is essential to their health, but do they know where to find it? Fatty fish, like salmon, is the main source of DHA in our diets, but the amount of DHA found in farmed fish has decreased due to the shift in raw materials used in aquaculture diets. There are no content guarantees on fish, so are we actually getting the nutrients in our food that we pay for? By feeding animals a natural diet rich in DHA and producing meat, eggs and milk enriched with DHA, we can shift the omega-6-to-omega-3 ratio towards disease prevention levels through consumption of whole, natural foods instead of supplements or artificially-fortified foods.”

Is producing DHA-enriched foods safe? How does it work?

The process to producing DHA-enriched foods is simple. When dairy cows eat animal feed enriched with DHA from Alltech’s Algae Solutions, that DHA is naturally incorporated into the milk that they produce. The nutritional benefit of this DHA-enriched milk is then passed along to the consumers who drink it. Similarly, when chickens are fed a DHA-enriched diet, the DHA is passed along to consumers via the eggs or meat that these animals produce, providing additional nutrition to the consumer in each bite. The same holds true for both cattle and swine, and the beef and pork they produce. Imagine grilling chicken at your next barbeque that could help your neighbor decrease her risk of heart disease1 or making a milkshake for your child that may assist in decreasing the inflammation that causes his eczema2. DHA-enriched functional foods make this possible, and can be consumed in a tasty and convenient delivery system – the foods we already enjoy eating.

How can you learn more?

Becky Timmons will be a featured speaker during The Algae Opportunity session at the 30th Annual Alltech International Symposium, “What If?”, as well as at Health and Wellness Through the Food Chain, a special seminar taking place Saturday, May 17, leading into Symposium.

The Algae Opportunity session will highlight algae as the future of pharmaceuticals and its role in bio-remediation, while exploring these topics:

• Opportunities from pharmaceutical to carbon sequestration
• Fish oil shortage
• The essential need for DHA
• Where algae can take us in the future
• Links between On-Farm Performance, Diet and DHA

(1)    Breslow JL. N-3 Fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;83:1477S–82S.

Koch, C, Dölle, S, Metzger, M, Rasche, C, Jungclas, H, Rühl, R, Renz, H, and Worm, M. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation in atopic eczema: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. British Journal of Dermatology. 2008;DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08430.x

Alltech’s solid state fermentation facility in Serdan, Mexico isn’t reinventing the wheel. But it does have the wheel rolling faster than it has rolled before.

The facility produces two main products: Allzyme SSF and De-Odorase. It’s a state-of-the-art production facility with about 200 employees that produces several thousand tons of Allzyme SSF every year. It’s one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world.

Alltech's solid state fermentation facility in Mexico, which produces Allzyme SSF, is one of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind in the world.

“Where Alltech rules the market is through the technology we’ve put into this,” said Kyle McKinney, an applications research scientist for Alltech.

Unlike the more common submerged liquid fermentation (SmF), solid state fermentation (SSF) occurs when a filamentous fungi is grown on a solid culture. The process begins by growing the fungal organism in liquid fermentation tanks. It is then mixed with a sterile solid substrate to achieve a desired moisture level.

The mixture is placed in trays that are moved to fermentation chambers. These chambers are large, highly-controlled environments that are monitored for temperature, humidity, air flow and other factors. The facility in Serdan has eight fermentation chambers, and each is about the size of a basketball court. Once the product is ready, it’s then dried and blended before being packaged and shipped for our customers.

“Alltech Serdan has the ability to produce product with a broad spectrum of enzyme activities, liquid fermentation does not have this capability,” said Paul Kilgallen, Plant Manager for Alltech. “By using solid state fermentation we can produce the enzymes much more economically, which is very advantageous to us and the customer.”

SSF isn’t new technology - the same process has been used in the making of soy sauce and saké for centuries, among other things. Alltech’s application of the process for the animal industry is what sets it apart. McKinney said the facility in Serdan is the most advanced of its kind in the world. The process is monitored closely to prevent contamination and maximize growth, resulting in a high-quality product trusted by farmers.

“The fact that we could grow a fungal organism and produce enzymes in a controlled environment wasn’t anything new,” McKinney said. “It was about finding how to do it in a commercial environment.”

SSF is more efficient than SmF at breaking down the nutrients in feed, which is what makes Allzyme SSF so valuable. It helps improve the digestibility of feed, improving feed efficiency and reducing waste. Farmers can save money on feed costs, traditionally one of their biggest expenses, by using less feed or by using alternative feeds. Reduced waste also means less impact on the environment.

Alltech Serdan also produces a wide range of De-Odorase products. The De-Odorase facility is in the midst of an expansion that should double production capacity.

The Serdan facility itself also puts an emphasis on sustainability and being environmentally friendly. It’s located in a dry region of Mexico about 120 miles southeast of Mexico City. The water that is used at the facility is reused and recycled.

Kilgallen said there are also 60,000-70,000 yucca seedlings at the facility, used for replanting in the surrounding regions. About 15 years later, the plants are harvested and transported to Serdan where the yucca logs are used to produce De-Odorase products. Phase one of a new De-Odorase production facility was completed on site earlier this year, and it should be operational midway through 2014. The new facility could more than double production capacity.

Alltech has had a presence in Serdan for 20 years, and the SSF facility has seen significant growth in that time. Kilgallen said they prefer to use local supplies and labor whenever possible, maintaining a strong place within a small community. Production now rolls around the clock as the facility continues to grow.

“I believe in the not too distant future Alltech Serdan will have to increase its solid substrate fermentation capacity by building more culture chambers,” Kilgallen said. “The plant is getting close to its capacity and the demand for Allzyme SSF is ever increasing.”

For more information on Allzyme SSF, click here. If you’d like to know more about the process of solid state fermentation, click here.

Norman neighs hello to Denmark as he was very excited to learn everything about its history! The more countries Norman visited the more of a history buff he has become, so after hearing that Denmark is famous for having an artistic heritage he was very excited to look around. Norman visited Copenhagen which had so many beautiful areas! Down by the Nyhavn harbor every house was a different color, mimicking a rainbow. Only a very short distance away was the Little Mermaid Statue, Norman thought that it was an exquisite piece of artwork, and he gave it his hoof of approval.

Norman then went to meet with the Alltech Denmark team, who brought him along to a tradeshow in Fredericia. Norman listened very hard all day and learnt a lot about the Alltech Weaner Advantage and the Mycotoxin Management Programme. Norman wanted to learn as much about Alltech’s solutions as he could, so that he would be able to share his knowledge with all the farmers and animals he met whilst on his travels to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy. Whilst at the event Norman noticed that Danish people are very inquisitive, everyone was eagerly asking him about the logos on his clothes. Norman was a brilliant mascot and told them about the Games and all of the exciting events that they could expect to see such as dressage, endurance and Norman’s favorite, show jumping.

While working hard at the tradeshow Norman got to sample some traditional Danish cuisine. He ate about 20 warm sausage rolls, followed by about four or five cinnamon buns. Feeling very full, Norman trotted back to Copenhagen to spend some time on Europe’s longest shopping street. Norman wanted to pick up a few gifts to post back to his parents; he bought them a small statue of the Little Mermaid, some traditional Danish hats and two nice pairs of Danish shoes. Happy that he had purchased everything he needed, Norman was ready to go to his next country.

October may be the month of candy, costumes, and trick-or-treating, but it is also the month of pork. October is National Pork Month in the US. Traditionally, this was the time of the year when pigs were to be marketed. Now we use this time of the year to thank producers for everything they do for the agriculture industry.

Pork is the most consumed meat globally, so pork producers play a major role in helping us feed the world. Each market hog represents about 371 servings of pork. That makes for hundreds of meals that feed families from the US all the way to China, and plenty of places in between.

As the global population continues to grow, pork producers will play an even more important role in the future. As this demand increases, pork producers continue to grow the industry and enhance their production methods. This is one of the many reasons why the ham sandwich continues to reign as king of the sandwiches served at home.

So this month, make sure to thank your pork-producing friends and family for all of their hard work!

When you think about Africa from a business perspective, do you think about its famine, political and social instability, or do you see a land of opportunity? Africa has seen incomes grow by three percent in just 10 years and The Economist magazine coined the phrase, ‘Africa rising,’ to reflect that eight out of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies are in Africa. In fact, both the World Bank and United Nations have recently issued reports pointing out that scaling up agriculture and agribusiness is the next frontier in Africa’s revitalization, and the fastest way to address rural poverty and hunger.

The 2014 Global Feed Tonnage Survey we released in January, which assesses the compound feed production of 130 countries each year, reported that Africa is the fastest-growing feed producing continent for the second time in a row, reaching 31 million tons of feed produced in 2013. Additionally, according to the findings, Africa’s chicken and broiler market is only a mere five years away from being the size and scope of that in Thailand or Brazil – two of the world’s top countries for poultry production.

Moreover, Africa has an abundance of three things that are critical to successful agriculture: sunshine, rain and land, at a time when these are in short supply elsewhere. Agribusinesses can invest in Africa to bring new technologies and techniques to the region while also profiting from the region’s rich aquaculture and land mass potential. It’s important to acknowledge the obstacles that Africa faces when it comes to logistics, storage and infrastructure (the “GLIMPSE” factors) but it’s more important to see the opportunity that exists if we can overcome these challenges.

In terms of landmass, Africa is capable of housing China, the United States, Russia, and Western Europe within its borders. As home to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in terms of GDP, it should become a $1 trillion food market by 2030. Such a dramatic change would not only transform Africa from being largely dependent on food imports, to becoming a potential food exporter. More importantly, it will increase the availability of affordable food and significantly decrease widespread hunger.

I invite you to come and be a part of Alltech’s 30th Annual International Symposium as we embrace the future of agriculture together, and take a hard look inside the business opportunities that lie within Africa and the markets it impacts. My colleagues and I will outline the agricultural revolution occurring in Africa and the big issues it faces, where to invest and what to invest in, and present case studies on those businesses who have succeeded so far in the underutilized terrain.

Furthermore, we will open by honoring the father of the Green Revolution, and one of agriculture’s greatest advocates, Dr. Norman Borlaug, with Alltech’s 2014 Medal of Excellence. We will present the posthumous award to Borlaugh’s granddaughter, Julie Borlaugh Larson, in honor of his agricultural innovations that saved more than a billion people worldwide from starvation.  She will open our Africa session, which promises to be a tremendous event -- meant to inspire, inform and spur ambition and motivation into the future of agriculture.

Today Africa is home to five of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. By 2050, it will be home to a quarter of the world’s population. With a land mass more than 3 times larger than that of China, it contains roughly 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land! Rich resource potential coupled with an emerging consumer class.

Dr. Damien McLoughlin, Dean of the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, encouraged participants at Alltech’s 30th Annual International Symposium to seriously consider business development opportunities in Africa, and he shared important lessons for success:

1. Pathfinder firms are already conducting business in Africa. Dr. McLouglin shared the success stories of the VP Group in Kenya, Zambeef in Zambia, the agricultural giant Olam, and the world’s largest premium spirits company, Diageo.
2. He emphasized the importance of building your knowledgebase before investing, managing the problem of too much opportunity, and of thinking first about routes to markets in a land with little or no retail infrastructure.
3. He underscored the importance of tailoring innovation to meet the needs and desires of the African consumer, who are known to already like many western brands.
4. Lastly he described what he called a “war for talent” and discussed the importance of developing local talent to build management teams and the necessity for stakeholder engagement.

Consider Zambeef Products PLC. Incorporated in 1994, Zambeef and its subsidiaries now represent one of the largest, integrated agribusinesses in Zambia and as such are involved in the production, processing, distribution, and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, edible oils, stock feed, flour and bread. Zambeef’s core strategy has been to offer consumers the most accessible and affordable quality protein by expanding retail and wholesale distribution to increase regional market penetration. Zambeef has achieved its success by pursuing a vertically integrated business model that provides a strong foundation of growth through margin capture, securing supply chains, and reducing risk and earning volatility.

According to Dr. McLoughlin, “It is not too late for new investors to get involved in Africa.” He contends that the private sector has the power, in cooperation with nongovernmental organization, government agencies, and universities, to tackle tough developmental challenges now.