Biotechnology in the feed industry and animal nutrition: harnessing microbes to provide natural solutions

Today’s feed industry is working to meeting the growing global demand and to further enhance its sustainability. Biotechnological tools to maximize production efficiency and animal health and to reducing nutrient excretion support the strive towards these goals. The use of enzymes increases nutrition utilization and thus can broaden the range of feed ingredients that can efficiently be used in nutrition. Probiotics and yeast products have been shown to stabilize the gut ecosystem and to optimizing intestinal function and health. Yeast products have also been shown to support immune function. Organic minerals being in a form of high bioavailability offer an effective strategy for improving the efficiency of feeding trace minerals and for reducing environmental burden. In the future, algae could play a major role as novel protein sources, as a tool to provide long chain essential fatty acids or other nutrients in highly available forms into the feed and food chain.