About the project
NORDICFEED will strengthen Nordic agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sectors by helping develop sustainable microbial feed ingredients from local underutilized organic side streams. The project will, thus, promote a sustainable food system, enhance food and feed independence, mitigate climate change and strengthen the bioeconomy of blue and green sectors in the Nordic countries.
Background
The novel microbial ingredients (MIs), such as the mycoprotein Paecilomyces variotii (P. variotii), produced from the organic side streams, will be investigated in optimized diets for Rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon at various life stages and environmental conditions. This will include the effect on growth performance, health and robustness in these species. The health-beneficial effect of bioactive components in the MIs will first be evaluated by in vitro methods employing primary and cell line cultures from salmonids and by in vivo challenging models using brine shrimp as a germ-free aquaculture model system. Nutritional value, growth response and health effects of the most promising MIs will then be validated in Rainbow trout and in Atlantic salmon kept in two environmental conditions (i.e. recirculated freshwater vs. saltwater) and exposed to handling stress and seawater adaptation.
Our multidisciplinary team will apply state-of-the-art tools (gut physiology, histopathology, transcriptomics and proteomics) to assess the impact of the novel feeds on growth performance and health of the fish in a multi-layered system biological way. The project will also investigate environmental footprint, economical aspects and regulatory constraints of introducing organic side streams into the human food chain by upcycling these into MIs for fish feed.
NORDICFEED will develop a multi-disciplinary Nordic platform for efficient biotransformation of food, agriculture and forest waste streams into value-added feed products. The platform will generate knowledge and technologies that will facilitate long-term responsible research and innovation, education and training of young scientists, and facilitate a green transition in the Nordic countries.
Potential impact of NORDICFEED
Bioconversion of underutilized organic side streams into high-quality MI-based feed ingredients for aqua-feeds will greatly contribute to increasing circularity, while maintaining environmentally friendly and sustainable development, all which are important to achieve a sustainable food system.
By working across the Nordic borders to use readily available organic side streams from forestry, food waste or animal by-products in the region, there is a potential to upscale the production volume of MIs to industrial scale to meet the need for high-quality feed resources for the aquaculture industry. NORDICFEED will thus facilitate business development across blue and green sectors in the Nordic countries.
Use of MIs in functional feeds, combined with proper feeding regimes (nutritional programming), can improve immunological function and increase disease resistance and resilience of farmed fish. Such functional feeds represent a cost-effective disease prevention practice. Well-utilized diets will also reduce the environmental impact, and by increasing the resilience of the fish, losses due to diseases and multi-stressful conditions will be reduced. This will benefit productivity, costs, consumer confidence in such products.
The research
The NORDICFEED project is a spin-off from Foods of Norway, a Centre for Research-based Innovation, which develops microbial ingredients (e.g. fungi) from spruce tree sugars and brown seaweed hydrolysates. NORDICFEED will also complement the ongoing ForestFeed and Oil4Feed projects, producing fungi from forestry side streams and fat-rich by-products, respectively, and the SLU Future Food Platform project, WASTE2FISH, producing sustainable fish feed from household waste.
WP structure and workflow
Flow chart Photo: Nordicfeed The flow chart of NORDICFEED project is shown in figure 1. WP1 will produce microbial ingredients (MI) from organic side streams from food waste, agriculture and forestry. WP2 will evaluate regulatory constraints and EU legislation on the use of MI in fish feed. WP3 will screen health beneficial effects of the MIs by using primary cell culture from salmonids and artemia as a model. WP4 and WP5 will evaluate nutrient digestibility, growth performance and health properties in Rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon. WP6 will evaluate environmental impact of MIs throughout the value chain from MIs production, feed formulation, and fish production.
Results on growth performance and environmental footprint
Physio-chemical characteristics of microbial ingredients
The microbial ingredients developed in the project was characterized with respect to content of crude protein, amino acids, crude lipids and minerals and physio-chemical properties. Results showed that p. variotii contained 62% crude protein with a favorable amino acid composition and microscopy imaging showed the filamentous structure of the fungi.
Ultrastructure of P. variotii after drying Photo: Dominic Duncan Mensah Experiments with Atlantic salmon
A growth performance experiment with salmon showed that P. variotii supported high feed intake and growth rate and improved feed conversion ratio compared to fish fed a high-quality control diet. Increasing dietary levels of P. variotii slightly reduced the digestibility of crude protein and energy, but increased the retention of nitrogen and energy in the fish.
Results from growth performance trial with p. variotii
Results from growth performance trial with p. variotii Photo: Nordicfeed Results nitrogen and energy retention in fish fed p. variotii
Environmental Impact of feeding P. variotii to Atlantic salmon
Feeding Atlantic salmon with the filamentous fungus P. variotii (PEKILO®) offers a promising step toward more sustainable aquaculture. A recent study examined diets in which P. variotii replaced up to 20% of conventional protein sources such as fishmeal and soy protein. The results showed multiple sustainability benefits, including lower greenhouse gas emissions by 11%, reduced reliance on marine resources, and decreased food-feed competition. Waste output patterns also improved, with reductions in phosphorus and nitrogen discharges.
Notably, feeding salmon with P. variotii lowered the Fish In, Fish Out (eFIFO) ratio, meaning fewer wild fish were needed to produce farmed salmon. This shift could help reduce pressure on wild fish stocks and contribute to a more balanced marine ecosystem. Additionally, replacing part of the plant-based feed ingredients with P. variotii further reduced the use of food-competing feedstuffs, supporting circular bioeconomy principles and enhancing the sustainability of aquaculture.
Results on environmental impact of P. variotii
Results on fish health
In vitro screening
An in vitro experiment with mononuclear cells isolated from Atlantic salmon head kidney and spleen cells exposed to P. variotii lead to an early immune stimulation as indicated by the upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tnfa, il-1b, and il-6. When the cells were co-incubated with P. variotii and the inactivated bacteria M. Viscosa, the immue response was even stronger, suggesting the potential immune role of P. variotii in fish immune responses against pathogen challenges. We also found that the response was stronger in head kidney than in spleen, suggesting that P variotii likely stimulate different cell populations by different receptors or menchanisms.
In vitro experiment Photo: Ruth Tamara Montero Health effects of feeding P. variotii to Atlantic salmon
Feeding P. variotii to juvenile salmon in freshwater for nine weeks gave a positive health effect including increase villus height with increase goblet cell in the distal intestine are and led to both activation and control of the inflammatory response in the distal intestine, head kidney and spleen.
Results on villus height, and goblet cell area
Results on villus height, and goblet cell area Photo: Nordicfeed Feeding salmon increasing levels of P. variotii (0–20% crude protein (CP) replacement) during the freshwater phase for 4 week before seawater transfer boosted salmon’s immune system. At a low CP replacement level of 5% CP, the fish produced more of a key antibody (IgM) against Vibrio anguillarum, a bacterium responsible for severe infections in aquaculture. Additionally, gene expression in the head kidney—a major immune organ in fish—showed that P. variotii induces immune activation using β-glucan receptors leading to upregulation of cytokines and effector molecules. P. variotii also coordinated communication between the innate and adaptive immune systems and directed T-cell responses. This immune response pattern suggests that P. variotii can be used in diet for Atlantic salmon for targeted immune modulation to improve resistance against diseases. To further understand the impact of P. variotii on the health of salmon, a proteomic analysis was conducted on the head kidney and epidermal mucus of fish fed the 20% P. variotii diet. mucus secretion. In the head kidney, researchers observed suppressed inflammatory pathways—possibly indicating an overcorrection of the immune system. At the same time, the skin mucus, which serves as the first line of defense against external threats, showed increased levels of inflammatory proteins. This suggests that while P. variotii supports immunity, finding the right balance in the diet is crucial to avoid overstimulation.
P. variotii also influenced the salmon gut microbiome. Salmon fed moderate levels (5-10%) of P. variotii had a lower abundance of beneficial lactic acid bacteria, but a higher presence of Photobacterium and Ligilactobacillus but increased α- and β-diversity. These changes suggest that P. variotii plays a role in reshaping the gut ecosystem, though more research is needed to understand the long-term implications.
Overall, the results suggest that P. variotii is a promising novel protein source with health benefits for Atlantic salmon, but achieving optimal inclusion levels is crucial to maximizing its positive effects.
References
Scientific papers
- Hooft P., Montero, R., Morales-Lange, B., Blihovde, V., Purushothaman, K., Press, C. M., Mensah, D. D. Opeyemi, J. A., Javed, S., Mydland, L. T., Øverland, M. 2024. Paecilomyces variotii (PEKILO®) in novel feeds for Atlantic salmon: Effects on pellet quality, growth performance, gut health, and nutrient digestibility and utilization. Aquaculture 589(54):740905. DOI: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.740905.
- Hooft, J. M., Tran, H. Q., Montero, R., Morales-Lange, B., Stejskal, V., Mydland, L. T., Øverland, M., 2024. Environmental impacts of the filamentous fungi Paecilomyces variotii (PEKILO®) as a novel protein source in feeds for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Aquaculture 596:741779 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.741779
- Mensah, D. D., Montero, R. T., Morales-Lange, B., Øverland, M., Mydland, L. T. 2024. In vitro salmonid models as tools for studying microbial-derived immunostimulants and aquaculture relevant salmonids pathogens: Current status and future perspectives. Aquaculture 595(10):741695
- Mensah, D. D., Morales-Lange, B., Øverland, M., Baruah, K., M., Mydland, L. T. 2024. Differential expression of immune-related biomarkers in primary cultures from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) exposed to processed Paecilomyces variotii with or without inactivated Moritella viscosa.Fish & Shellfish Immunology 148(2):109506 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109506
- Mensah, D. D., Morales-Lange, B., Rocha, C. R., Øverland, M., Kathiresan, P., Hooft, J. M., McLean, C., Sørum, H., Mydland, L. T. 2025. Paecilomyces variotii improves growth performance and modulates immunological biomarkers and gut microbiota in vaccinated Atlantic salmon pre-smolts. Fish & Shellfish Immunology, Volume 160, May 2025, 110223 doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2025.110223
Conferences
ISFNF 2024
Margareth Øverland, Ruth T. Montero, Byron Morales-Lange, Jamie Hooft, Ruth Sergio D. C. Rocha, Brankica Djordjevic, Liv Torunn Mydland
NOVEL MICROBIAL PROTEIN SOURCES PRODUCED FROM FOREST SIDE STREAMS SUPPORT HIGH GROWTH PERFORMANCE, HEALTH AND PRODUCT QUALITY OF ATLANTIC SALMON
ISFNF, May, 2024, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoHooft J.M., Montero R., Morales-Lange B., Blihovde V.F1, Purushothaman K., Press C.M., Mensah D.D., Mydland L.T. and Øverland M.
Paecilomyces Variotii in novel feeds for Atlantic salmon: Effects on pellet quality, growth performance, gut health, and nutrient digestibility and utilization
ISFNF, May, 2024, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoMensah1*, Dominic, B. Morales-Lange1, M. Øverland1, K. Purushothaman2, C.M. Press2, L. T. Mydland1
BEYOND NUTRITIONAL VALUE: MYCOPROTEIN PAECILOMYCES VARIOTII IMPROVES GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND OVERALL, HEALTH RESPONSES IN ATLANTIC SALMON (Salmo salar)
ISFNF, May, 2024, Puerto Vallarta, MexicoEAS 2023
Hooft, Jamie M. Hooft, Byron Morales-Lange, Ruth Montero, Dominic D. Mensah, Veronica F. Blihovde, Sana Javed, Heikki Keskitalo, Liv T. Mydland, and Margareth Øverland
Paecilomyces variotii in novel feeds for Atlantic salmon: Effects on pellet quality, growth performance, nutrient digestibility and utilization, and immune-related biomarkers in the distal intestine. Aquaculture Europe, September 18-21, 2023, Vienna, Austria.Mensah, Dominic D. Mensah, Byron Morales-Lange, Margareth Øverland, Kartik Baruah, Liv Torunn Mydland
Beyond nutritional value: Mycoprotein Paecilomyces variotii improves growth performance and overall health responses in Atlantic salmon. Dominic D. Mensah, Byron Morales-Lange, Margareth Øverland, Kartik Baruah, Liv Torunn Mydland Aquaculture Europe, September 18-21, 2023, Vienna, Austria.Øverland, Margareth, Byron Morales-Lange, Jamie Hooft, Ruth T. Montero, Sergio D. C. Rocha, Dominic D. Mensah, Brankica Djordjevic, Liv Torunn Mydland
Solving the raw material crisis: A Norwegian perspective on developing functional ingredients for novel aquafeeds.Aquaculture Europe, September 18-21, 2023, Vienna, Austria.
Participants
Project lead, Sweden:
Prof. Kartik Bahrua, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)Partners
Academic partners: Dr. Elin Röös, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Energy and Technology.
Industrial partners: Heikki Keskitalo eniferBio ltd, Dr. Jeleel Agboola, Biomar. Associated partners: Borregaard.