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A PROTEIN FOR OUR FUTURE Empyreal 75 Made of fire and a world apart’ by Roger Gilbert, Publisher, International Aquafeed
Our sister publication, International Aquafeed magazine was invited to tour the production facility for a unique aquaculture protein product, at the remarkable Cargill production plant in Blair, Nebraska, USA.
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hat is in a name? - Take Empyreal® for example. Was it introduced into our consciousness simply to brand a new product coming onto the market and required a catchy new name? No, there appears to be more to it than that, a lot more to it. ‘Empyreal’ carries the meaning, in both Greek and Latin, ‘of the highest heaven’ or ‘the celestial, sublime or exalted.’ It is ‘of the sky’ or ‘of the heaven’ and is ‘made of pure fire’! An impressive meaning to be given to a product in our industry! But can any product live up to such formidable claims or association, you may ask? Surprisingly, we at International Aquafeed and our sister publication Milling and Grain, think it can and will. The product is a revolutionary vegetable protein. Protein is the building block of human civilization itself. Without protein and the right kind of proteins in their amino acid profiles, we would not have achieved our current intelligence nor status within our small galaxy, nor can we expect to maintain that position over time without increasing the supply of the highest-quality proteins for our domesticated livestock and fish production and in turn ourselves. Empyreal® 75 carries the meaning behind the word, and is the brand name for this ‘new’ protein product that is at last being produced in volume, efficiently and economically and is finding growing demand within the global aquafeed processing industry and is creating demand and application in intensive livestock production systems. As it says on the label, this product has a 75 percent, highly digestive protein content with an attractive amino acid profile that is made from that humble maize or corn kernel that in its natural stage contains just eight percent protein. Producing a concentrated protein from maize or a corn-gluten meal is not new, but never at the concentration above 75 percent that is being achieved today.
The technology behind the processing - “Is staggering”
Milling and Grain and International Aquafeed magazines were given a unique opportunity to tour the production facility manufacturing this unique product at the massive Cargill production plant in Blair, Nebraska, USA; which is located right at the western edge of the corn belt and is adjacent to the Union-Pacific Railroad, the Missouri River and US Highway 30. From across the valley the plant could be mistaken for a traditional chemical plant and consisting of silver silos, glinting pipework and masses of stainlesssteel buildings. There is a regular convoy of trucks entering and leaving the site. 66 | August 2017 - Milling and Grain