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MARINFORSKFISK-Marine ressurser og miljø - fiskeri

BlueMusselFeed. Nordic Poultry Feed Made from Ocean Cleaning Blue Mussels BlueMusselFeed – Poultry feed made from blue mussels

Alternative title: BlueMusselFeed - Blåskjell som fôr til kyllinger

Awarded: NOK 11.7 mill.

Project Manager:

Project Number:

337261

Application Type:

Project Period:

2023 - 2025

We can make chicken meat from blue mussel protein in Norway! Chickens need to eat high quality protein. We consume more chicken meet, but Norway lacks feed ingredients to cover the need for protein. Instead we import a lot of soy beans and corn-gluten, and occationally use some fish protein. The protein from blue mussels is highly digestable, and this project aims to verify that blue mussels are suitable for feeding chickens. The ambition is to prove that we can feed Norwegian chickens on a new, local protein ingredient, as well as piloting industrial production of blue mussels in our shores. Blue mussel production are being used as a cleansing measure in coastal areas several places across the world. As well as producing a new feed ingredient, we can contribute to prevent over fertilizing, due to the spillage of nitrogen and phosphorous, in our shores. Blue mussels are a natural filtering organism. They capture carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous from the water. The soft part of the shell has a high protein content, while the shell is mainly calcium carbonate. The latter can be used as a calcium source in feed production, or as carbon storage. Through this project we aim to develope knowledge about the separation of the mussel soft tissue from the shells, and preservation of the soft tissue. To utilize the ingredient in feed production, the ingredient needs to optain suitable storage stability. The chicken that are fed on blue mussels, must have equal health and welfare as the ones fed on traditional feed. The have to fullfill growth requirements, and the meat must taste and smell as good as conventional chicken meat. The aim for BlueMusselFeed is to establish a new feed ingredient that can increase our self sufficency, and at the same time harvest minerals form the sea. Industrial scale production will reduce over fertilization and acidification of the sea, as well as increase sustainability of Norwegian food production.

Prosjektet BlueMusselFeed skal lage kyllingkjøtt av blåskjell! Prosjektet skal vise at vi kan erstatte importert protein med norsk protein. Soya, maisgluten og fiskeprotein erstattes med blåskjellprotein i kyllingfor. Kvaliteten på kyllingkjøttet skal undersøkes. Dette vil øke sirkulariteten av næringsstoffer og selvforsyningsgrad. Blåskjell samler næringsstoffer i havet, som karbon, nitrogen og fosfor. Mer kunnskap om prosessteknologi for å skille skall fra protein, og lage stabile og anvendelige råvarer av blåskjell, skal utvikles i prosjektet. Målet for prosjektet BlueMusselFeed er å etablere en ny kraftforråvare som øker norsk råvareandel, samtidig som vi fangster og sirkulerer næringsstoffer. Storskala dyrkning av blåskjell i norske farvann vil redusere både overgjødsling og forsuring av havet, samt øker bærekraften og selvforsyningen i vår matproduksjon, både på land og i havet.

Funding scheme:

MARINFORSKFISK-Marine ressurser og miljø - fiskeri

Funding Sources