Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan The era when fish grounds began to be transformed into a resource for circulation Late 2000s

Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan The era when fish grounds began to be transformed into a resource for circulation Late 2000s

In the late 2000s, there was a strong demand in Japan for the reuse of food by-products and unused resources. This was due to a combination of several factors, including the increase in food waste, the environmental impact of incineration, and the rising price of feed due to soaring oil prices. In particular, the steep rise in feed prices in 2007-2008 had a major impact on the livestock industry, and the development of domestically produced alternative feeds to reduce dependence on imported feed became a nationwide issue. The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were promoting eco-feed using food scraps and encouraging local governments and private companies to develop the technology.

Under these circumstances, a feed manufacturer in Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, called Yofurt Feed, developed a new fermented feed that combines fish waste and a lactic acid fermentation substrate. Fish waste, while highly nutritious, is an underutilized resource that is expensive to process. The idea of recycling local fishery by-products as a reusable resource rather than waste was in line with the environmental policy of the time.

The use of fermentation technology reduced the perishability and odor of fish fillets, improved their shelf life, and made them easier to handle as feed. The lower pH caused by lactobacillus fermentation also contributed to improved hygiene safety and stabilized feed quality. Fish-derived protein was effective as feed for pig and poultry farming, and was expected to be an alternative to imported feed.

In Ebino City, which has a high proportion of agricultural and livestock products, efforts to recycle local resources were important from both economic and environmental perspectives. The development of the Yofurt Feed technology was a pioneering example of converting an unused local resource into a valuable feed resource, and was also in line with the trend of promoting eco-feeds.