CONTRACT RESEARCH

SPAROS offers contract-research services to industrial customers by developing new products or conducting research in aquafeeds.


Since the creation of SPAROS, we have been associated with the development of multiple feed additives, novel feed ingredients, and feeds for fish and shrimp.

Main activity areas

Feed additives | Emerging raw materials | Novel feed formulations

Species

Atlantic salmon | Common carp | Meagre | Nile tilapia | Rainbow trout | Seabass | Seabream | Senegalese sole | Turbot | Yellowtail | Whiteleg shrimp | Others

NUTRITION TRIALS

SPAROS conducts nutrition trials on several fish and shrimp species and develops targeted analytical solutions for each  customer.

Nutrition trials evaluate a wide range of zootechnical, physiological, and immunological criteria, such as growth, feed conversion, digestibility, palatability, and immune modulation response.

Facilities

Marine species

› Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) with adjustable photoperiod
Tanks: 15L, 80L, 100L, 300L and 500L

› Open system with adjustable photoperiod
Tanks: 12L and 50L

› Open system subject to natural photoperiod
Tanks: 1000L

Freshwater species

› Open system subject to natural photoperiod
Tanks: 100L, 200L, 300L, 500L and 1000L

› Shrimp trials
System with 50 x 500L tanks and automated monitoring and control of water quality to rear Whiteleg shrimp from post-larvae to commercial size.

Digestibility

Digestibility measurements of the entire diet or of a specific ingredient, with incorporation of inert markers.

Methodologies for faeces collection

  • Stripping
  • Decantation column (Guelph system)
  • Outlet water filtration (INRA system)

Sampling & Analytics

Customised solutions for addressing your research hypothesis:

  • Biochemical analysis of nutritional composition
  • Physiological plasma metabolites
  • Digestive and metabolic enzymes
  • Non-specific immune response
  • Molecular markers of immune and nutritional status
  • Gut dysbiosis
  • Organ histology
  • Protein and lipid turnover using stable isotopes
  • X-ray microradiography and fluorescent staining for skeletal growth
  • Flesh quality criteria and sensorial tests with trained consumer panel
  • Others

CUSTOMISED DIETS

SPAROS produces tailor-made feeds for fish and shrimp in our pilot feed mill dedicated to your R&D projects.

We provide product development services that take advantage of our expertise in aquafeed formulation,
a wide range of raw materials in stock, and a customised technology that allows production at small scales
(batches from 10 to 500 kg).

Our solutions

  • Development of feed prototypes to test the inclusion of target ingredients
  • Formulation of novel aquafeeds for emerging species
  • Addition of enzymes, feed additives and heat-labile compounds
  • Assessment of the influence of ingredients in the productive process

Technology

Our technological solutions include:

  • Twin-screw extrusion
  • Low-shear extrusion
  • Vacuum coating of oils and heat sensitive additives
  • Milling, mixing, fluid bed drying, crumbling, mechanical sieving
  • Microencapsulation

Pellet Quality

Pellet quality is customised to match the feeding behaviour of a target species and the successful application of new products at the industrial level.

  • Pellet durability
  • Pellet hardness
  • Sinking speed
  • Fat leaking
  • Starch gelatinization
  • Nutrient leaching
  • Water stability
  • Extrusion conditions

Tailoring your feeds.