Auchan backing sustainably fed trout, looks to other fish species
The trout product was developed in partnership with insect producer, InnovaFeed, feed formulator, Skretting, algal oil producer, Veramaris, and fish farmer, Truite Service. The fish are farmed in France.
In the feed, 50% of fishmeal is replaced by insect protein, with fish trimmings, previously discarded, making up the rest of the fish meal or fish oil component, a move that is aimed at reducing pressure on marine resources, said the retailer.
Launched at the Paris International Agricultural Show (SIA 2020), the new trout product will be available in 52 Auchan supermarkets in the north of France starting next month, with the supermarket chain saying it was hoping to expand the offer to the rest of the country in 2020.
We reported on the initial agreement between French biotech company, InnovaFeed, and Auchan, to develop an insect fed trout product back in 2017.
Expansion to other species
Olivier Vandebeulque, head of the seafood category at Auchan, who was behind the move to bring that value chain together, said the retailer intends to extend its collaborative value chain approach to further species such as shrimp, salmon, bream and bass.
The Auchan announcement comes just days after Skretting and Veramaris reported they had supported another French retailing group, Supermarché Match, in the launch of a trout raised on feed containing the algal oil from Veramaris. That same chain brought out a similarly fed salmon product in its stores last year.
German supermarket chain, Kaufland, is carrying salmon raised on a diet including the Veramaris algal oil in its own brand K-Blue Bay line.
Commenting, Andreas Schopper, head of purchasing, Kaufland Germany, said: “Our common goal with Veramaris is to reduce the amount of wild fish used in feed to less than one kilogram for the production of one kilogram of salmon.”
