My Passion for Asta Ltd.

Roy E. Chapin, Ph.D.

Animal Nutritionist

Why am I writing this document?  I have been formally involved in animal nutrition and agriculture economics since the late 1950’s during my undergraduate studies.  Since then my career has remained focused on –improved nutrition through better animal feeds.  In 1986 I began working with USAID to improve dairy and swine production in developing countries. I am still involved in USAID today.  I have coordinated and consulted on numerous USAID sponsored projects around the world focusing on innovation and improvement in agribusiness and animal nutrition. These include Russia, Egypt, Kosovo, Mexico, China, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ukraine, Republic of Georgia, Hungary, Turkey, India, Malawi, The Dominican Republic, The Philippines, Tajikistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, South Korea, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. I have participated in multiple projects in many of these countries.  In 1997 I served as an Honored Professor: Russian Academy of Management and Agribusiness in Moscow; and Academy of Management and Agribusiness in St. Petersburg, Russia. I mention my background in order to give credibility to the statements about Asta’s products that I make in this letter.  My CV follows this letter.  I am writing this letter because I know the potential of what Asta’s extraordinary products represent to the global animal feed business and the impact they can have on the human food chain.  What follows are the details as to why I am passionate for Asta Ltd.

The ocean is the final depository for many of the nutrients that are essential to life. Recovery of these nutrients from the sea occurs when fish are harvested.  Unfortunately, after removing the edible parts, up to 70% of the catch ends up as highly perishable and potentially malodorous by-product that requires disposal.  Asta has a better solution than returning these valuable harvested nutrients to the sea or dumping them in landfills, which causes serious environmental damage.  The solution is an economical way to capture these landed nutrients and make them available to plants and animals before they become a massive disposal problem.

Asta’s proprietary, continuous enzymatic hydrolyzing technology can be used to recover nutrients from any fish or animal protein source, including whole fresh fish and discards from processing plants..  Asta’s process uses enzymes to hydrolyze (split into other compounds by reacting with water) perishable but valuable proteinaceous material into stable products of high economic value that benefit humankind and the environment.  What life-sustaining products result from this unique patented reclamation process?  The list includes:

  • Pasteurized Protein Powder PPP (composed of short chain polypeptides)
  • Marine oil includes omega-3 fatty acids
  • Marine bone – source of calcium and phosphorus
  • Shark cartilage – from spiny dogfish shark
  • Shark liver oil high in the essential vitamins A and D
  • Organic fish fertilizer – liquid and dry

These are all high quality products with even greater value and more uses than one would at first imagine.  By recovering them, we improve the food supply for humans and their plants and animals while solving a challenging and growing environmental disposal problem.

Protein is essential for life. Protein scarcity results in retarded growth and may lead to death.  Think of the contribution to humankind that is possible by adding Pasteurized Protein Powder to the diet of those people in third world countries consuming mainly low protein foodstuffs high in starch, such as corn, tapioca, cassava and rice!  Sprinkling PPP into the tortilla mix or the bowl of rice fed to growing children would improve their health, ability to learn, and chance to develop their full potential to contribute positively to society.

Animals that produce food for humans also require protein.  The younger the animal, the more need there is for high quality dietary protein.  PPP produced by the Asta process is particularly nutritious for young animals, making it the product of choice (its nutritional qualities are superior to fishmeal) for supplementing starting diets for fish, swine, and companion animals.

Protein recovered by the Asta process is chemically different from its original form because the hydrolyzing process splits the long chains of amino acids that make protein into shorter chains of amino acids called polypeptides.  These polypeptides, in comparison to the original intact protein, may support superior performance in animals.  University studies show that PPP enabled ruminants to utilize poor quality feedstuffs such as straw.  An experiment conducted at Oregon State University revealed that growing beef animals fed grass seed straw supplemented with PPP performed as well as similar animals fed much higher quality (and more expensive) grass seed hay without supplemental PPP.  Think of the worldwide possibilities to improve the utilization of rice and cereal straws by adding PPP to rations fed to ruminants (dairy, beef, sheep and goats). PPP recovered from fish assists ruminant animals in recovery nutrients locked up in low quality forages.

Asta’s advanced hydrolyzing process can be used to produce products that support life more abundantly. From a practical standpoint, a couple of examples follow:

1.) Consider the impoverished areas of Africa where starvation is ever present.  Let me examine one such village, a village that has no hope of ever being disease free, having strong, well developed, educated children, and incapable of sustaining a food supply.  A village where there is no consistent supply of high grade proteins and other vital nutrients. A village where aid agencies bring in food for daily consumption.  A village where there is no long term hope of ever getting out of this cycle.  What if a supply of Asta’s PPP could be brought in to feed animals (ruminants, poultry, swine) and humans.  Its high quality, long shelf life and relatively low cost would make this an ideal food.  By spraying the PPP onto straw the ruminants would produce more and better quality milk. Better nutrition means an increase in fertility rates; and an increase in fertility rates would result in increased milk and meat production. Healthier animals also mean stronger animals. In the case of beasts of burden, more work would be done, – more fields prepared for crops ultimately bringing more harvest.

Human mothers would feed their young PPP that was mixed either with milk or juice and see a “miraculous” change in their child’s development pattern -  a development that could not have happened since previously there was not enough protein and poly unsaturated fatty acids (Omega – 3 complex) available for a developing child’s internal organs.  A supply of Asta’s PPP provided by relief agencies could change the complete nature of a local village, a village where quality protein is  absent and the villagers malnourished.  It is my educated opinion that within two to three years this village would undergo an unbelievable transformation.  Adequate nutrition for both humans and animals would change the village.  Men and women would become more productive and children could be educated and preparing to be the next generation of leaders for Africa in business or politics.

2.)  Bangladesh with its under-nourished population comes to mind.  The people of Bangladesh raise lots of fish and rice.  This means they have an abundant supply of fish discards and rice straw, both relatively useless in their original state.  The PPP recovered from the fish discards by Asta’s process could be added to the rice straw fed to the country’s starving ruminants.  The result of the enhanced diet would be greater meat and milk production.  This would mean an improved diet for hungry people.  As in the scenario above, more milk and meat available means a stronger and healthier population and ultimately producing more well developed children.

A unique feature of PPP is that it is dispersible in water, making it possible to add high quality polypeptide protein to milk replacers (fed to baby calves) and to urea-molasses liquid feeds that are fed to mature ruminants.  Adding PPP (a natural protein) to a molasses based liquid feed containing urea (a synthetic protein) improves the performance (e.g., faster growth and increased milk production) of animals consuming poor quality forages.  Asta can transform what started out as a perishable by-product from the fishing industry into a valuable feedstuff that helps ruminant animals retrieve bound nutrients from other by-products such as straw and other poor quality forages.  The tonnage of liquid feed fed to ruminant animals is huge, making the potential market for PPP lucrative.  The opportunities for the use of PPP in animal and human diets are substantial.  The ability of Asta to process non-edible fish discards into quality products can help “Providing Protein and Nutrients for Life . . .”™

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in the body oil of cold water fish and are recovered by Asta’s patented hydrolyzing technology.  Why is this important?  Much of the world’s enlightened population is experiencing serious health problems due to a dietary imbalance resulting from the consumption of an inadequate amount of omega-3 FA’s and a relative excess of omega-6 FA’s.  Over a hundred years ago humans consumed a ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 FA’s of approximately 1:1 to 1:2 (terrestrial sources of omega-3 FA’s include flax seed oil and to a lesser extent canola oil).  Today, with more vegetable oil that is high in omega-6 FA’s in the diet and with food processors removing the unsaturated FA’s because of their short shelf-life (removed via life-destroying trans-hydrogenation that produces margarine and shortening), the diet of humans and animals is low in essential omega-3 FA’s.  Our present dietary ratio is 1:25 omega-3 to omega-6 FA’s.  The result is a higher incidence of heart attacks, cancer, senility, and vision and skin problems.

Populations with diets balanced in omega-3 and omega-6 FA’s are healthier.  Typically, eating salmon or taking supplements that supply marine oil from cold water fish improves health.  Adding omega-3 FA’s to the diets of companion animals results in more luxuriant coats and healthier skins.  The Asta hydrolyzing process can help meet an increasing market demand for these life-supporting essential oils by recovering them from the discards of fish processors.  The growing public awareness that feeding humans and their pets greater amounts of omega-3 FA’s results in improved health makes this an exciting and expanding market for the food quality products produced by Asta’s hydrolyzing technology.

Bone, another product recovered by Asta, is a good balanced source of calcium and phosphorus.  Sources of calcium are fairly ubiquitous (limestone) and inexpensive, but phosphorus deposits are scarce and precious.  Bone can be used as a source of calcium and phosphorus for plants and animals, which is better than dumping it back into the sea or into landfills in the form of processing by-products.

Spiny dogfish shark can be processed with Asta’s technology.  Shark liver oil is high in vitamins A & D, and before the synthetic production of these two essential fat-soluble dietary vitamins, spiny dogfish shark were harvested for their livers.  With our unique enzymatic hydrolyzing process we can fractionate whole shark into PPP, shark liver oil and shark cartilage.  (Shark have cartilage rather than bones.)  Shark cartilage (in conjunction with glucosamine) has been helpful in reducing the aging effects associated with osteo-arthritis.  This is a rapidly growing market that makes the harvesting of shark profitable, particularly when the entire shark can be fractionated into usable products.  The demand for organic sources of sulfur is increasing as baby boomers age and suffer from joints that hurt because the cartilage that interfaces between their bones is growing thin.  Consuming shark cartilage is thought to reduce this loss of cartilage and even help to rebuild it, thus improving the quality of life.

In summary, Asta has a unique patented enzymatic hydrolyzing and drying process that allows the economic recovery of protein, oil, and bone/or cartilage from seafood and animal food processing residuals streams. Asta’s products are of benefit to human, animal, and crop health and are under growing demand.

Roy E. Chapin, Ph.D.

(click name for CV)

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