Solid state fermentation as a comprehensive tool in producing low cost shrimp feed

Abstract Fermented plant proteins are being used as a potential alternative in shrimp feed with varying degrees of success due to the demand and high cost of fishmeal. However, the greater part of earlier reports restricted in assessing their nutrient utilization rather than addressing the economic benefits. Hence, the present study is aimed to derive the economic efficiency of solid-state fermentation (SSF) using our earlier reports. Fishmeal, in our earlier studies, was gradually replaced (w/w) by using both various untreated and fermented plant proteins. According to our earlier results, fermentation significantly (P < 0.05) increased the range of inclusion level of plant proteins from 2.5–25 to 5–35%. The formulation cost was computed in the present study based on ingredients cost obtained from three different feed mills, in India, and was INR 63.5/kg for a diet containing no fishmeal replacement (control). Substitution of fishmeal using both untreated and fermented ingredients reduced the formulation cost and the reduction was INR 3.5–6.1/kg for fermented ingredients, while it was 1.5-3.0/kg for untreated ones. Results conclude that SSF could be a comprehensive tool in producing low-cost shrimp feed.