Traceable protein welcomed as new tool to help validate integrity of supply chain
Menlo Park, CA (Wednesday, May 8, 2019) – Leading alternative protein producer Calysta has joined forces with seafood giant Thai Union Group PCL to offer the world its first taste of commercially farmed shrimp fed with protein produced from natural gas.
Delegates at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels will today be offered pan-fried shrimp fed Calysta’s innovative and sustainable FeedKind® protein, which contains a unique carbon signature that can help the food industry provide traceability and integrity to its supply chain.
As a sustainable alternative protein, FeedKind also enables shrimp farmers to increase their output to meet growing global demand without putting extra pressure on the planet’s resources, replacing fishmeal from wild fish specifically caught for protein in shrimp feed.
Alan Shaw, PhD, President and CEO of Calysta, said: “Thai Union is one of the world’s largest seafood producers and, like us, they are committed to improving sustainability and traceability in the shrimp farming industry – making this partnership a significant moment for the seafood sector.
“Calysta’s aim is to help create a future where the world’s growing population has guaranteed food security. By introducing a sustainable alternative protein that allows us to determine whether a shrimp was fed FeedKind protein with a simple test, FeedKind offers the industry a new level of transparency.”
The shrimp served at the Brussels expo were farmed on a feed using FeedKind protein and marine ingredients derived from Thai Union tuna byproducts.
Darian McBain, Ph.D., Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Thai Union, said: “Aquaculture is key to providing a sustainable form of protein for the growing global population. Ensuring that the feed inputs to aquaculture are sustainable, as well as the production methods, is vital.
“In line with our SeaChange® sustainability strategy, Thai Union is always looking for innovative ways to bring greater traceability and more sustainable products to market. By working with FeedKind, we are able to offer shrimp that have been grown using feed that has completely replaced the fish caught for fishmeal in the feed with an innovative alternative protein. The fact that the protein has a unique carbon signature that helps provide traceability and reduce seafood fraud are other significant benefits.”
Fishing activities associated with the production of fishmeal for feed have been associated with unsustainable practices. For example, fish caught are sometimes Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU), the fisheries may be unsustainably managed, or working conditions on vessels can lead to human rights abuses. By eliminating this proportion of the shrimp feed, in additon to making use of fully traceable tuna byproducts, a leap forward in sustainable shrimp production has been made.
Calysta’s FeedKind is made via a patented natural-gas fermentation platform. Made using very little land and water by fermenting natural gas, an abundant source of energy, it is a safe, nutritious, traceable and price competitive protein which has been commercially validated through extensive trials.
For more information on Calysta, see www.calysta.com or www.FeedKind.com. More information on Thai Union’s sustainability strategy SeaChange® can be found at www.seachangesustainability.org
Contacts:
Calysta: Steven Flanagan, [email protected], +44(0)141.343.3250; Lyn Christenson, [email protected], 650.492.6880, ex. 100.
Thai Union: Leigh Murray, [email protected], +61.473.658.807
About Calysta
Calysta, Menlo Park, CA, is an innovator in sustainable products to improve worldwide food security. Calysta develops and commercializes FeedKind® protein, an alternative feed ingredient for fish, livestock and pet nutritional products.
About Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for more than 40 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 133.3 billion (US$ 4.1 billion) and a global workforce of over 47,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.
The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch and Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo.
As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behaviour, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Find out more at seachangesustainability.org.
Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized in 2018 by being ranked number one in the world in the Food Products Industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, achieving a 100th percentile ranking for total sustainability score. Thai Union has now been named to the DJSI for five consecutive years. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the third straight year in 2018.