Kate explains that MicroHarvest’s fermentation process yields two main products: a high-quality single-cell protein ingredient, MPX, and a nucleotide-rich extract, HILIX. The former offers complete amino acid profiles and excellent digestibility; the latter boosts animal health and feed performance.
“For a startup, it’s very difficult to compete purely based on protein content – you necessary to bring something more to the table,” she states.
“Fishmeal protein content is great, but fishmeal does much more than that. There’s a lot of goodies in there, some that we know that influence palatability, some that stimulate health, that stimulate digestion, and that’s what we can also do – and that’s where we really differentiate ourselves from, for instance, a plant-based protein, by bringing these extra functionalities.
“For our high nucleotide extract, we break the cells open, add enzymes, and modulate the product so certain compounds become more bioavailable,” she explains. These bioactive extracts then function as specialty feed ingredients, improving survival rates, resistance to disease, and digestive enzyme stimulation in shrimp, among other species, Kate explains.
“We’ve already demonstrated that if we add our single-cell protein to shrimp feeds, feed uptake is increased and feed conversion rates are significantly reduced, by up to 15%.”
