Advanced Technique for Rapid Non-Destructive

Analysis of Fish Feed Composition:

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• INTRODUCTION
A wide variety of well known experimental
procedures currently adopted by food
producers has a number of common
disadvantages. These standard chemical-
physical tests are usually:

ƒ time consuming
ƒ demanding specially trained staff
ƒ costly
ƒ destructive for the sample
ƒ require frequent calibration
ƒ utilise toxic solvents
ƒ can not be implemented on the production
line
Modern nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
analysers offer a wide spectrum of extremely
quick, non-destructive and precise
applications. Thanks to the high automation of
modern NMR instruments most routine tests
can be performed by virtually anybody. A
routine measuring procedure can literally be
described as “push the button - get the
answer”.
BRUKER minispec mq series (Figure 1) is one
of the most advanced and powerful NMR
analysers currently available on the market. It
offers a wide range of standard applications for
experimental determination of fat, oil and
moisture contents in various media. The
instrument has an important advantage of
being a fully self-adjusting system with no
need for manual tuning of measurement
parameters. At the same time more advanced
users have a possibility of implementing new
applications using a built-in programming
language (ExpSpel). This makes the minispec
mq series well suitable for research and
development purposes as well. The device has
been ISO 9001 certified and complies with the
European measuring standards.
Figure 1 BRUKER minispec mq series (Bruker
Optik GmbH, Germany)
The quality of fish feed and the effectiveness
of fish feed production process are important
issues for both fish feed suppliers and fish
farmers. A correct combination of fat, protein,
carbohydrate and moisture contents in fish
feed is crucial for achieving a desirable growth
rate and other key characteristics of farmed
fish. A fast at-line control of fish feed
composition would give fish feed producers an
advantage of more flexible control over the
production, resulting in a more effective
consumption of energy and raw material
ingredients, increasing the production speed
and improving the quality of the final product.
The ability to do rapid corrections in the
ongoing production, based on at-line analysis
would substantially reduce rework and low-
grade production. This would in turn result in
an overall positive economical effect in the
fish feed production.
Figure 2 schematically demonstrates a
simplified fish feed production line with some
important control points where the low field
NMR equipment could be used for product
quality control.
Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat and Moisture in Fish Feed 2

Initial ingredients

Figure 2 – Application of low field NMR in quality control during fish feed production

Protein and Carbohydrate

Fat+Water Fat

Figure 3 User interface of an application for the determination of protein, carbohydrate, fat and
moisture in fish feed implemented in the minispec mq10 low field NMR analyser (Bruker Optik, GmbH,
Germany)
Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat and Moisture in Fish Feed
• ANALYSIS OF FISH FEED
A new low field NMR method for
determination of protein, carbohydrate, fat and
moisture content in fish feed has been
developed and implemented in the Bruker
minispec mq10 low field NMR analyser. All
the mentioned parameters are determined
simultaneously in one measurement. The new
method is based on a combination of the well-
known “solid echo”, “free induction decay”
and “spin echo” NMR sequences.
The NMR instrument operates at proton
frequency of 10 MHz and has a 40mm bore
opening. A typical fish feed sample consists of
about 30 or more pellets depending on their
size.
Prior to the measurements, the instrument
response has to be calibrated against a set of
reference samples with known protein,
carbohydrate, fat and moisture contents. For
protein and carbohydrate calibrations, the
reference sample set must contain the raw
ingredients as well. The program user interface
and a typical NMR response is shown in
Figure 3.
NMR response is not sensitive to minor
changes in the microscopic properties of the
raw materials used in the production being
directly proportional to the total quantity of the
measured compound. Origin or type of fish oil
and other raw ingredients do not have any
significant impact on the observed NMR
signals. Therefore, it is not necessary to
recalibrate the instrument for new raw material
For more information contact:
SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture
N-7465 Trondheim, NORWAY
http://www.sintef.no
Emil Veliyulin
E-mail: emil.veliyulin@sintef.no
Phone: (+47) 73 55 13 56
Fax: (+47) 73 86 77 08
3
batches supplied from different sources.
Reliable determination of the protein and
carbohydrate content with this technique
suggests that the fish feed recipe is available.
The method has been successfully tested in the
research fish feed factory (EWOS Innovation
Ltd., Dirdal, Norway) and has proven to be
quick, precise, and robust.
• SUMMARY
The new low field NMR technique allows a
quick and non-destructive determination of the
main constituents in fish feed. No toxic
solvents are needed and the analysis can be
performed by ground-floor personnel. The low
field NMR equipment requires no
maintenance. These obvious advantages make
the low field NMR technique highly
competitive with both traditional chemical
analyses and Near Infrared Spectroscopy.
The new technique has a potential to be
implemented for an automated on-line quality
control of fish feed production.
The present low field NMR technique can be
further modified and customised to determine
similar quality-related parameters in other
types of fodder as well as in a wide range of
dry food products.
Bruker Optik GmbH
Silberstreifen
D-76287, Rheinstetten, GERMANY
http://www.minispec.com
E-mail: minispec@bruker.de
Phone: (+49) (721) 5161 141
Fax: (+49) (721) 5161 237