Products & Solutions

Evonik invests in probiotics

Healthy chickens — healthy shrimp

The frequent use of antibiotics in animal husbandry is controversial. The less you need, the better, which is why Evonik is adding Ecobiol® to its probiotics portfolio in Asia.  

The use of antibiotics is particularly common in poultry farming, where they prevent animals from becoming sick. There is good reason for this: diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are frequently caused by pathogenic bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens, which is responsible for losses in the poultry industry amounting to several billion US dollars each year.

Evonik is taking a different approach to this problem. The company’s probiotics products maintain healthy intestinal flora in chickens and, in so doing, prevent inflammatory bowel diseases. Evonik is now adding Ecobiol® to its range of probiotics in Asia. “Ecobiol® is new to our portfolio,” says Dr. Emmanuel Auer, who heads the Animal Nutrition Business Line at Evonik. “We are convinced that this product has tremendous potential and that its unique properties will be useful in a wide range of applications.” The objective is well defined: “We see Ecobiol® as a key to reducing the use of antibiotic performance enhancers in animal feeds, resulting in more sustainable animal nutrition.”

The Ecobiol® market launch will take place within the framework of the VIV Asia tradeshow in Bangkok. The region was selected for a reason: “Results for Ecobiol®, both in poultry farming and aquaculture, have been very positive in various situations, such as different stress conditions,” says Peter Freisler, head of Gut Health Solutions. “Its success has been demonstrated in scientific studies and in commercial applications, which is especially interesting for our customers in Southeast Asia, particularly in the shrimp farming industry.” Ecobiol® was acquired from Norel S.A. of Spain in 2016.

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