In conversation with AQUA Media, Innocon general manager Carlos Sepúlveda highlighted the main services for the aquaculture sector, such as advances in fish nutrition and health.
Innocon S.A. is a company that provides innovative industrial solutions for aquaculture, animal, human nutrition, and industrial chemistry. Its matrix of services covers laboratory analysis, product development/improvement, preparation of industrial pilots, technical-economic feasibility, and consulting in different disciplines.
What products or services do you offer to the aquaculture or fishing industry?
“The sectors where we have the most experience and development are effectively the aquaculture industry and the fishery. We have as clients most animal feed companies and almost all fishing companies.
Our laboratory is one of the best in Chile in oils and fats, with several international distinctions. This is because we offer high precision and accuracy analysis services under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. For example, we are second worldwide in determining the profile of fatty acids such as Omega-3, according to the LPP of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS). In addition, we can detect traces of ethoxyquin (an antioxidant banned in Europe), both in raw materials and finished products, to give security to exporters.
On the other hand, our R&D department has specialized in the creation of innovative products or improvement of existing products, where we have ventured into protein and lipid hydrolysates, oxidative stabilization, stabilization of olein mixtures, nutritional bioassays, development of supplements. food and microencapsulation.”
A year ago, you announced the project to develop a sustainable fat for salmon feed. What progress has this project made since then?
“That’s right, during 2021 we were awarded an Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC-R) from the Regional Government of Biobío to develop a sustainable fat for salmon feed.
What we were looking for was a fat that would prevent exudation of the extrudate and that would also be digestible by the fish, to prevent its accumulation on the seabed. In the development of this new product we have obtained excellent results, we achieved a sustainable coverage grease and at this time we are only doing product stability tests.”
Outside of the above, what projects are you carrying out today related to the national aquaculture/fishing industry?
“Today we are executing many aquaculture projects, some of which we cannot disclose because we are subject to confidentiality.
However, of those that can be counted, one of the most important that we are developing is an effective oral vaccine for salmonids to prevent infection by Salmonid Rickettsial Septicemia (SRS), consequently minimizing the use of antibiotics and mortality in salmon. crop.”
What projects do you have planned for the remainder of the year, and in the medium term?
“In the remainder of the year, we will surely be working on a project to support the artisanal fishermen of Coronel (Biobío region), where we will develop a product for them to revalue a part of the sardines they catch. In this way, the aim is to achieve greater profitability and develop a new line of business for the sector.
In the medium term, in addition to continuing to support our clients in their innovative analyzes and developments, we are seeking to expand our national and international reach, to be able to help a greater number of clients meet their objectives and desires.”
