Krill – How pet food formulators can benefit from this tiny crustacean

Powerful and health-promoting nutrients

Krill meal contains a high proportion of fat, of which 25% is made up of omega 3. Using a 5% inclusion rate on a Dry Matter (DM) basis, krill may contribute with 0.3% of EPA and DHA or 0.4% of omega 3. This makes krill ideal as a replacement for any other omega 3 source in a pet food formula. Studies show that krillsourced phospholipid omega 3 is much more effective (42%) in increasing the omega 3 Index compared to similar marine triglyceride omega 3.

With a fat level of 30%, krill meal contains approximately 1.4% choline. Therefore, krill can partly or completely replace any choline source used in a food formula. Known as phosphatidylcholine, choline from krill is capable of increasing plasma choline 12 times better than the commonly used choline chloride salt. Importantly, this increase is also longer lasting.

Another natural component of krill is the extremely powerful antioxidant astaxanthin. It does not only serve as a biological antioxidant for pets, but also acts as a product stabiliser. Using 5% inclusion on a DM basis may provide 6.5 milligram astaxanthin per kilo.

Complete source of proteins

Krill is a complete protein source, containing all amino acids essential for dogs and cats. Approximately 8% of krill protein is the limiting amino acid lysine, and glutamic acid makes up another considerable portion of the protein. Although glutamic acid is non-essential, it is great for palatability. These proteins are highly digestible, as a large proportion is made up of short peptides.

Easy to formulate

Even though it contains a high amount of fat, krill is an easy ingredient to work with. Since a large part of the fat is present as polar phospholipids, krill is not greasy, but quite dry, light and free-flowing. Despite the high level of vulnerable fatty acids in krill, it can easily cope with the normal heat treatment used in most extruders. Possibly, this is due to the astaxanthin, that is naturally integrated into the fat present in krill.

Krill ingredient brands, such as QRILL Pet, are known and appreciated for having sustainable and traceable sourcing for pet food. In fact, QRILL Pet products are the first Marine Stewardship Council certified krill ingredients for pet food and supplements.