The advances come as Nuscience, a member of the Royal Agrifirm Group, launches the next phase of its Biotica introduction for the Canadian market, providing the feed industry including poultry, swine and ruminant sectors with fresh solutions designed to fit with the paradigm shift toward reduced antimicrobial use.

Versatility for specialty and conventional markets

Nuscience and CBS Inc. recently received authorisation for Biotica as approved for use in Canadian organic production, further adding to the specialty market versatility of the platform, which is designed for use across conventional and a range of specialty production approaches. The technology is showcased by CBS Inc. at its Nutrition Summit on 30 April in Calgary followed by the industry-wide Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada 2-3 May in Edmonton.

“We are seeing strong initial uptake of Biotica by progressive companies and producers looking to prepare for the new standards on judicious use of antibiotics and also to align production strategies with a range of both current and emerging market opportunities,” says Rob Patterson, Technical Director with CBS Inc. “There is a lot of rising interest to learn more about this new solution at a time of rapid industry evolution. We look forward to furthering this discussion with our animal nutrition colleagues at the upcoming science and technical forums.”

Lessons from Europe benefit North America

Biotica is a functional feed additive that fits well with advanced strategies designed to support health, well-being and overall performance of animals. The Nuscience technology featured in Biotica has become a market leader globally with a proven decade-plus track record of use with production systems designed to optimize animal and production benefits without the inclusion of antibiotic growth promoters.

“In Europe we have gone through the transitions now underway in Canada, the US and other jurisdictions,” says Rob Goedegebuure, Global Lead, Health4U Feed Additives, Nuscience. “These transitions have driven our scientific focus and shaped the evolution of our feed technology solutions that are widely used in Europe and growing rapidly in adoption elsewhere. This includes our latest generation elite-level feed technology suite featured in Biotica.”

Canada has set December 2018 as the deadline for moving all use of antibiotics to prescription only. Major producer and commodity associations have implemented various stages of programmes aligned with this shift, often addressing antimicrobial stewardship along with broader sustainability initiatives encompassing additional aspects of production such as housing, biosecurity, environment, welfare, quality and food safety.

Healthy animals, healthy production

Goedegebuure has been part of several recent Nuscience delegations that have toured key production regions in Canada and participated in numerous meetings and industry events along with CBS Inc. team partners. “We have enjoyed meeting with Canadian colleagues and have been encouraged with the increasingly progressive focus we have seen on embracing innovation and science-based solutions. With today’s knowledge, tools and strategies, there is excellent potential for production systems that raise the bar on performance and profitability while also ensuring high standards of animal care and welfare.”

Nuscience approaches the animal feed industry with two focused business units, Nutrition4U and Health4U. Nutrition4U by Nuscience is a range of young animal nutrition concepts, customised premixes and performing concentrates. Health4U by Nuscience, which includes the technology featured in Biotica, offers innovative additives and functional feed ingredients. Royal Agrifirm Group, headquartered in the Netherlands, is a leading agricultural cooperative with an international network of subsidiaries in 16 countries within Europe, South America and Asia and a worldwide distribution network.

CBS Inc., based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is an innovation-focused company with global reach that researches, develops and manufactures a wide range of bio-based products used in feed, food and industrial applications. It is a pioneer and leader in enzymes and other bio-based feed technology options, leveraging over 30 years of research and development. Producers and industry can contact their CBS Inc. sales representative for more details on Biotica and CBS Inc. Feed Science Platforms. More information is also available here.