The 20th edition of the conference of the European Association of Fish Pathologists (EAFP) took place 9 to 12th September in Oporto, Portugal, with Adisseo taking Nutriad’s heritage as supporting member, and in this edition moreover gold sponsoring the event.
With a long tradition on gathering both research and industry, the EAFP Conference once again emerged as a great success with more than 600 attendees mostly from Europe, but also all over the globe. Presentation of latest results, new research trends as well as an important meeting point for research community and industry professionals, many forums and open discussions took place in the Alfândega of Oporto during the conference.
Adisseo was present as Gold Sponsor and sponsored the participation of Ms. Elissavet Arapi, from the Organisms and Environment Division at the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, UK. Elissavet, preparing a PhD at Cardiff University co-funded by Adisseo, presented her work on developing an in-vivo challenge test methodology for testing feed additives in guppy fish. “The lack of reliable and reproduceable challenge models is one of the most important bottlenecks for improving our understanding on parasite prevention through functional feeds”, according to Dr. Mercè Isern-Subich, Product Manager Aquaculture Health for Adisseo. “The guppy model has proven that health promoting feed additives can influence drastically the prevalence and impact of parasitic infestations in fish. Functional feeds are formulated to boost the immune defences of fish, making them more competent to fight parasites, besides we supplement natural compounds with anti-parasitic action to the feed which impact the expansion of the parasite within the fish population. Sensitive in-vivo models will help us to maximize the efficacy of our feed additive formulations prior to field verification with our customers with commercial species of fish under production conditions”, according to Dr. Isern. “It is interesting to see that our customers, aquafeed millers and large fish integrators, have increased drastically their interest in functional feeds due to the increasing disease pressure in aquaculture”, says Dr. Peter Coutteau, BU Director Aquaculture for Adisseo. “The increasing participation of feed companies to the EAFP event shows that nutrition and health go hand in hand, with nutritionists and veterinaries nowadays working as a team to decide on the composition of the feed in fish production. Adisseo is matching these market needs in aquaculture by providing specialized products and services to support nutritional as well as health additives.”
Acquired by Adisseo in 2018, Nutriad offers species-specific feed additive specialties for aquaculture and helps producers of fish and shrimp across the world to prevent diseases and parasites; and to improve cost efficiency of feeds. Adisseo is one of the world’s leading experts in feed additives. The group relies on its 11 research centers and its production sites based in Europe, USA and China to design, produce and market nutritional solutions for sustainable animal feed. With more than 2,100 employees, it serves around 3,500 customers in over 100 different countries through its global distribution network. Adisseo is one of the main subsidiaries of China National BlueStar, leader in the Chinese chemical industry with nearly 23,000 employees and a turnover of 6,4 billion euros. Adisseo is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.