Cool Feed Press Release

Aquacenter’s new 'Cool Feed Process' creates medicated pellets that float.

Thanks to a new invention in aquatic feed processing, fish farmers now have an alternative to watching medicated feed sink to the bottom of their ponds. The alternative is a floating feed pellet created to reliably deliver Pfizer's TM-100®, an oxytetracycline feed medication for fish.

The floating fish feed pellets are created using a new low-temperature process known by its inventor as "The Cool Feed Process." The patented process provides a low temperature method for making a stable aquatic animal feed that is extremely water stable and can be processed as either a sinking or floating feed.

The use of a cool or ambient temperature process removes the harsh conditions of conventional processing that include high temperatures and pressures that destroy heat-sensitive feed ingredients. Antibiotics are preserved in extruded feed pellets produced with the USDA and FDA approved Cool Feed Process. In addition, "The Cool Feed" pellets carry more fiber than actual nutrients, reducing the practice of over-fortification. Catfish farmers, in particular, have long sought the dual advantages of a product that delivers medication when sick fish are taken off conventional feed.

Dr. James R. Fajt, a biological scientist and aquaculture consultant, invented the patented Cool Feed Process. It is licensed by Aquacenter, Inc., of Leland, MS. The process takes advantage of a chemical reaction that occurs with a common food ingredient. The Cool Feed Process can be easily adapted to existing conventional extrusion equipment.

The Cool Feed Process has been tested at feed mills and is available to mills that purchase licenses from Aquacenter. Feed mills can easily adopt the new process and use it along with conventional methods because the same extrusion equipment is used, with only minor exceptions. A changeover from the conventional process to extruding with the Cool Feed Process takes about 10 minutes. The noticeable production difference is the use of room temperatures instead of a steam process.

The ability of the Cool Feed Process to hold solids makes it possible to produce complete feeds, explains the developer, James Fajt. "Feed produced by this process can be 3 percent to 98 percent moisture. It can provide all the nutrients for fish growth and can be a vehicle for the administration of antibiotics. Extensive testing conducted in ponds has shown no difference between conventional pelleted fish feed and the feed extruded with the Cool Feed Process

In head-to-head comparisons between feed produced using the new Cool Feed Process versus conventional methods, the costs are acceptable. But the dramatic difference, Fajt says, is the list of problems associated with the conventional processes that are eliminated using the cool feed method. These include characteristics of instability in water, inadequate nutritional value, causation of poor water quality, poor palatability, or costly processing. The patent, granted to Fajt in 1996, supports claims that the process he developed provides multiple desirable characteristics of a stable aquatic animal feed not found in the conventional processes.

Part of the desirability, Fajt explains, is that the Cool Feed Process yields a highly adaptable product. Pellet size can vary, allowing for very small pellets to feed newly hatched fish and larval forms. Density variances provide different buoyancy characteristics as extruded pellets are created to either float, sink, or float-sink-float. The final density is affected by the amount of air trapped in the feed production process.

The newly developed cool feed process and its resulting feed products easily adapt to various types of fishery and aquaculture management, Fajt says. Feed produced using the Cool Feed Process can be provided as pre formulated and processed feed or as a dry-mix for easy, low cost, on-site production, according to Fajt. Pellets made with the Cool Feed Process are hard enough to be handled with standard feed augers and Blowers.

As a saltwater alternative, the dry ingredients can be mixed and sold as dry feed mix. A shrimp or salmon farmer, for example, would buy a dry instant feed premix, then add freshwater to the premix and apply using a sprayer. The chemistry of saltwater reacts with the mix and forms a
water insoluble feed pellet. With the ease of this process, shrimp farms in remote areas
would no longer need an extruder to manufacture their feed. Customers are encouraged to contact Delta Western, 601-887-1226, 1842 Highway 82 West, Indianola MS 38751, to order feed extruded with the Cool Feed Process.

Additional information on the Cool Feed Process may be requested from Dr. Fajt at Aquacenter, 166 Seven Oaks Road, Leland, MS 38756; phone 800-748-8921. Email jfajt@uswest.net. Aquacenter on the web: http://www.aquacenterinc.com

Aquacenter’s new 'Cool Feed Process' creates medicated pellets that float.

Thanks to a new invention in aquatic feed processing, fish farmers now have an alternative to watching medicated feed sink to the bottom of their ponds. The alternative is a floating feed pellet created to reliably deliver Pfizer's TM-100®, an oxytetracycline feed medication for fish.

The floating fish feed pellets are created using a new low-temperature process known by its inventor as "The Cool Feed Process." The patented process provides a low temperature method for making a stable aquatic animal feed that is extremely water stable and can be processed as either a sinking or floating feed.

The use of a cool or ambient temperature process removes the harsh conditions of conventional processing that include high temperatures and pressures that destroy heat-sensitive feed ingredients. Antibiotics are preserved in extruded feed pellets produced with the USDA and FDA approved Cool Feed Process. In addition, "The Cool Feed" pellets carry more fiber than actual nutrients, reducing the practice of over-fortification. Catfish farmers, in particular, have long sought the dual advantages of a product that delivers medication when sick fish are taken off conventional feed.

Dr. James R. Fajt, a biological scientist and aquaculture consultant, invented the patented Cool Feed Process. It is licensed by Aquacenter, Inc., of Leland, MS. The process takes advantage of a chemical reaction that occurs with a common food ingredient. The Cool Feed Process can be easily adapted to existing conventional extrusion equipment.

The Cool Feed Process has been tested at feed mills and is available to mills that purchase licenses from Aquacenter. Feed mills can easily adopt the new process and use it along with conventional methods because the same extrusion equipment is used, with only minor exceptions. A changeover from the conventional process to extruding with the Cool Feed Process takes about 10 minutes. The noticeable production difference is the use of room temperatures instead of a steam process.

The ability of the Cool Feed Process to hold solids makes it possible to produce complete feeds, explains the developer, James Fajt. "Feed produced by this process can be 3 percent to 98 percent moisture. It can provide all the nutrients for fish growth and can be a vehicle for the administration of antibiotics. Extensive testing conducted in ponds has shown no difference between conventional pelleted fish feed and the feed extruded with the Cool Feed Process

In head-to-head comparisons between feed produced using the new Cool Feed Process versus conventional methods, the costs are acceptable. But the dramatic difference, Fajt says, is the list of problems associated with the conventional processes that are eliminated using the cool feed method. These include characteristics of instability in water, inadequate nutritional value, causation of poor water quality, poor palatability, or costly processing. The patent, granted to Fajt in 1996, supports claims that the process he developed provides multiple desirable characteristics of a stable aquatic animal feed not found in the conventional processes.

Part of the desirability, Fajt explains, is that the Cool Feed Process yields a highly adaptable product. Pellet size can vary, allowing for very small pellets to feed newly hatched fish and larval forms. Density variances provide different buoyancy characteristics as extruded pellets are created to either float, sink, or float-sink-float. The final density is affected by the amount of air trapped in the feed production process.

The newly developed cool feed process and its resulting feed products easily adapt to various types of fishery and aquaculture management, Fajt says. Feed produced using the Cool Feed Process can be provided as pre formulated and processed feed or as a dry-mix for easy, low cost, on-site production, according to Fajt. Pellets made with the Cool Feed Process are hard enough to be handled with standard feed augers and Blowers.

As a saltwater alternative, the dry ingredients can be mixed and sold as dry feed mix. A shrimp or salmon farmer, for example, would buy a dry instant feed premix, then add freshwater to the premix and apply using a sprayer. The chemistry of saltwater reacts with the mix and forms a
water insoluble feed pellet. With the ease of this process, shrimp farms in remote areas
would no longer need an extruder to manufacture their feed. Customers are encouraged to contact Delta Western, 601-887-1226, 1842 Highway 82 West, Indianola MS 38751, to order feed extruded with the Cool Feed Process.

Additional information on the Cool Feed Process may be requested from Dr. Fajt at Aquacenter, 166 Seven Oaks Road, Leland, MS 38756; phone 800-748-8921. Email jfajt@uswest.net. Aquacenter on the web: http://www.aquacenterinc.com