US sweetener developer Stevia Corp. is making a move into the aquaculture and fish feed sectors, having appointed fisheries and agribusiness veteran Andrew Kaelin to its advisory board.

Stevia, a natural sweetener grown as stevia leaf and then processed, is already found in over 6,000 products in the US, having been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008.

The processing of stevia to produce the approved extract Reb-A also produces an ingredient which Corp. is now incorporating into fish feed, Kaelin told Undercurrent News. This has a number of positive effects for aquaculture.

According to the company, stevia itself is a health product, and has a 50% market share in Japan based on this. It also holds health benefits for fish, said Kaelin.

Stevia Corp. is working on developing several products. The first is a probiotic, which uses bacteria in a pond to consume waste materials such as nitrates and nitrites. The second is an enzyme which aids fish digestion, and the third product will be a combination of these two plus the health benefits of the extract (pictured).

Currently Stevia Corp. is working on trials, documentation and establishing the credibility of its products, which have seen a variety of trials already.

“So far it's been passed out to [fish and shrimp] farmers on a 'take this, run your own trials' basis,” said Kaelin.

“We're trying to get them into different locations and environments – Indonesia, China, and there's been some tests with Malaysian grouper as well as shrimp,” he said.

Kaelin, who himself has owned and operated a 300-hectare shrimp farm along with many other aquaculture ventures, pointed to a shrimp industry plagued by disease as an important market for the company's new products.

The product will be differentiated from others through its own Stevia Quality Mark, which will emphasize the naturally fed and sustainably produced attributes of the fish produced.

"Because of the longer growing cycle, the aquaculture production takes longer to establish, but ultimately we expect this to be our largest revenue contributor long-term"

“With this finished product, you've put this into the ponds and created a more favorable growing environment,” said Kaelin.

“We're currently seeing with our Singaporean partners about creating a website that would start to explain this on some of the first products to come through.”

Once the products have completed successful trials and gained the proper documentation, the intention is to sell them to the US aquaculture market, followed by the European and Asian markets depending on success and recognition.

“Mr. Kaelin's appointment is timely as we begin to develop the market for our aquaculture production, which we expect to be in full gear by next year,” said George Blankenbaker, Stevia Corp. president, in a press release.

“Because of the longer growing cycle, the aquaculture production takes longer to establish, but ultimately we expect this to be our largest revenue contributor long-term.”

Kaelin, who was appointed to Stevia Corp.'s advisory board on May 1, has over 30 years of experience in agribusiness, aquaculture and fisheries.

He is particularly involved with fisheries in developing countries, and is responsible for the developing country program of the NFI's International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA).

He is also managing director of AIS Aqua Foods, a seafood production and marketing company.