IFF secures EU approval for phytase enzyme
Danisco Animal Nutrition and Health, a business unit of IFF, today announced that phytase enzyme, Axtra PHY GOLD, is now authorized for in-feed use in the EU.
The product was first launched in June 2020, with availability initially in the US, Mexico, and India; launches in markets worldwide, pending regulatory authorizations, were to follow.
"The EFSA dossier was submitted in October 2020. We obtained a positive opinion in November 2022, and then [formal approval] took another eight months. The entire process lasted 33 months," Jose Luis Ecija Roux, regional marketing director, EMEA, told us.
Axtra PHY GOLD, according to Danisco, has an advanced mode of action that improves the release and subsequent uptake of phosphorus, calcium, energy, and amino acids, reducing the antinutritional effects of phytate and delivering greater feed cost savings.
As to whether Danisco anticipates greater take-up of the phytase by the EU broiler or the pig sector, the spokesperson remarked: "Both segments can benefit equally. With Axtra PHY GOLD, we provide tailor made matrix values to both poultry and swine producers. This enables them to optimize their diets by considering the solubility of limestone which will led into lower calcium and phosphorus excretion to the environment. Moreover, Axtra PHY GOLD has proven to remove completely inorganic P in poultry and swine diets, which brings tremendous opportunities for animal production while contributing to a more sustainable animal products."
Phytate is the main storage form of phosphorus in all grains, which represents the basis of most plant-based diets used in animal production. Phytases are enzymes that help break down phytate, allowing better absorption of phosphate and reducing or removing the need for addition of phosphate supplements in poultry and pig diets. The ideal phytase needs to break down phytate as quickly as possible to reduce the phytate’s negative impact. This requires an enzyme that is highly active at the low pH in an animal’s upper digestive tract.
Danisco Animal Nutrition and Health has been involved in phytase development for over 20 years; it first entered the segment in 2001 with a fungal phytase, followed by the first commercially available E. coli phytase in 2003. Subsequently, it released Phytase XP TPT in 2007, Axtra PHY in 2013 and Axtra PHY GOLD in 2020.
Scientific studies demonstrate the product’s performance in broiler and pig diets, reported the IFF business.
This year has also seen Danisco release a new enzyme blend targeted at better utilization of high fiber piglet diets.
