Alternative feed producer Veramaris received US Food and Drug Administration (USDA) approval Friday, clearing the way for the sale of its feed to US fish farmers.
Nine months after production began, the USDA awarded the alternative algal oil company its Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) approval for use by commercial aquaculture in the United States.
"It is another important milestone in our journey and means the US aquaculture industry has a guaranteed source of algal oil in these very uncertain times," said Veramaris CEO Karim Kurmaly.
Veramaris has invested over $200 million (€177.4 million) in its processing plant in Blair, Nebraska, which makes omega-3 oil from marine algae using regular sugar as the source of energy.
"I also want to thank the men and women at our site in Blair who are ensuring that despite the restrictions imposed by Coronavirus, we are able to continue to increase production to meet growing demand from our customers," he said.
So far this year, the Blair site has delivered to its customers almost twice the algal oil volumes as last year’s entire production from across its three Veramaris sites, according to the company.
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