Antioxidants in Fish Food

[pwatts]

I've been doing a little research on fish foods recently and I can't seem to find anywhere that categorically confirms or denies the presence of ethoxyquin in fishmeal that is used in Australian made products.

I know New Life Spectrum contains ethoxyquin as an antioxidant already existing in the raw materials it uses. The New Life Spectrum link http://nlsfishfood.com/index.php?option ... mitstart=5 claims that ethoxyquin is in all fishmeal in the US as it is an import customs requirement to stop the fishmeal going rancid.

Is all fishmeal used in Australian fish food factories imported from overseas and, if so, does it contain ethoxyquin? I know some foods contain mycocurb as a preservative but this is generally for stopping mold in the foods' flour content and the like.

If any fish food experts can shed some light on the matter it would be appreciated.

Please note I am a big fan of NLS as well as a big fan of Australian made fish foods so I am not looking to create any arguments for or against either. Also, I am not looking to add to 'the use of ethoxyquin' debate but rather to simply determine what goes into our fishes' food.

Thanks

Peter

[malrift]

simple reply is no it is not used in fishmeals from Australia the US is the only country that uses it due to there laws. So it is not found in Australian made foods.

[pwatts]

Hi

I know that it's found in fishmeals used by certain Australian aqua feed manufacturers for their commercial pellets (which is different to the businesses you're referring to obviously) - I may need to dig a little deeper it seems to see if these aquaculture companies do indeed get their fishmeal from the US then.

Do you know who produces/manufactures Australian fishmeal for our domestic ornamental / aquarium market (if it's not imported) then onsells it to the Australian aquarium food manufacturers- a website, contact details etc?

Thanks for the quick reply.

Cheers

Peter

simple reply is no it is not used in fishmeals from Australia the US is the only country that uses it due to there laws. So it is not found in Australian made foods.

[RD.]

the US is the only country that uses it due to there laws.

I'm afraid that is totally incorrect. Ethoxyquin is used by the vast majority of fish meal (and fish oil) producers due to it's effectiveness, safety, & long term track record within the industry. There are other more natural preservatives that can be used, but they reduce the shelf life of the product drastically. Some manufacturers may state that their products do not contain ethoxyquin, only because by law they do not have to disclose such information as it is not being added at their end. That doesn't mean that it's not in there.

I recall a discussion that took place a few yrs back where a local here in AU was promoting his more "natural" fish food, and stating on the forums that it would not contain preservatives such as ethoxyquin. He also promoted the fact that he would be using natural color enhancers such as Naturose astaxanthin. What he didn't realize at the time (until I pointed it out) is that the company that produced Naturose used ethoxyquin to preserve the fat in their product. It was clearly marked on the label of all of their bulk shipments.