Northfin food

[neutrino]

I hope someone follows my logic here.

I found a document apparently outlining the US shipping regulations for fish meal, including specifications of moisture, fat, etc, and with the following relevant items:
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/fishmeal.html

Sec. 148.04-9 Fishmeal or scrap, ground or pelletized; fishmeal or scrap,
ground and pelletized (mixture).

(c) At the time of production of the material, it must be treated
with at least 400 ppm antioxidant (ethoxyquin); in the case where the
material contains more than 12 percent fat by weight, it must be treated
with at least 1000 ppm antioxidant (ethoxyquin) at the time of
production.

(f) The material must contain at least 100 ppm antioxidant
(ethoxyquin) at the time of shipment.

In the meantime, my assumption is some of the EQ has oxidized into other substances. That it does so has been mentioned earlier and is apparently supported by the following:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02635920

Ethoxyquin is an effective antioxidant for both fish oil and fish meal but its antioxidant activity often follows an initial burst of pro-oxidant activity. Some oxidation products of ethoxyquin are shown to be powerful antioxidants as determined from measurements by the Warburg manometric technique. Of the compounds examined, 2,6-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethyl-6-quinone imine and ethoxyquin nitroxide showed marked antioxidant activity.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10942912.2010.526277

Abstract
The antioxidant activity of Chinese parsley was evaluated as compared to the synthetic antioxidant ethoxyquin during storage at 45°C for 42 days. The oxidative stabilities of diets were determined according to the changes in headspace oxygen consumption, the formation of oxidation products, and the DPPH radical scavenging activity. The results achieved using different oxidation parameters showed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in oxidation products and high DPPH radical scavenging activity, suggesting that Chinese parsley is effective in retarding lipid oxidation over a long storage period. On the other hand, the efficiency of ethoxyquin decreased as it was degraded over time. In addition, DPPH radical scavenging activity was strongly correlated (R2 = 0.98, P < 0.01) with the content of caffeic acids, one of the simple polyphenols in Chinese parsley, and thus, caffeic acid may be responsible for the improved oxidative stability. Therefore, results suggested that Chinese parsley, a commonly used plant, can be safely used as a natural antioxidant alternative to synthetic additives for long-term storage in the feed or food industry.

So, apparently a fish food lab test for EQ is only telling you how much remaining EQ is in the sample, but does not tell you the original total EQ or the total of end product compounds of EQ. And, of course, the ppm EQ in the packaged fish food is reduced by other ingredients not containing or requiring EQ. Correct?

I'm not attempting to make an alarmist point here, just trying to understand the process. So here's a question: Is the breakdown of EQ an ongoing process, so that fresher product might test higher than older product or shipments of ingredients like fish meal, krill, etc. might vary in tested amounts of EQ, partially due to original production date?

...Chinese parsley as a source of natural preservative... cost effective?

Feel free to comment or counter if your reasoning is logical, reasonable and substantive.

 

[RD.]

So, apparently a fish food lab test for EQ is only telling you how much remaining EQ is in the sample, but does not tell you the original total EQ or the total of end product compounds of EQ. And, of course, the ppm EQ in the packaged fish food is reduced by other ingredients not containing or requiring EQ. Correct?

Yes, that is correct.

So here's a question: Is the breakdown of EQ an ongoing process, so that fresher product might test higher than older product or shipments of ingredients like fish meal, krill, etc. might vary in tested amounts of EQ, partially due to original production date?

Again, that is correct. How much that reduction is under ideal storage, I do not know. Probably not a huge amount , which is why EQ has always been the preservative of choice. It has a very long track record of safety and efficacy in aquaculture circles.

 

[Grinch]

I forget where I ran into this... but one of the primary lit papers I was looking at last week suggested that EQ is so effective as a preservative because EQDM (Ethoxyquin Dimer, a breakdown product of EQ) is also an effective anti-oxidant. So, treating with EQ gives you a double-punch of preservation power... once the EQ breaksdown there is still EQDM in the food... which keeps the food preserved that much longer.

Another paper, cited above in this thread, suggests that EQDM may be just as "bad" as EQ with respect to a toxicological response in freshwater fish.

 

[RD.]

I recall 15 or so years back a person on cichlid forum had a container of NLS that he had purchased from a Canadian LFS and he was wondering if the food was still good because the container looked so old. He posted a pic, and the distributors label was still on it (Seachem), and the owner of NLS told me that it would have to be 6-7 yrs old, as that was the time period when that distributor stopped carrying the food, and he had no idea why this store had such old stock. Very strange situation, but the person on the forum stated that the food looked and smelled fine, no sign of mold etc, and his fish ate the food with the same gusto as fresh food, with no ill effects. I checked months later and his fish were still all alive and doing well. That unopened container of fish food was 6-7 yrs old, and while no doubt some nutrient/vitamin loss had taken place, the food itself was still stable. Considering New Life's decision to go with Naturox, for them I guess all a moot point now. And of course NF doesn't use EQ, so they wouldn't know the rate of break down in a sealed container of fish food, either.

 

[DarylMac]

And of course NF doesn't use EQ, so they wouldn't know the rate of break down in a sealed container of fish food, either.

About that... when I emailed NF earlier this week I did a cursory glance of their website looking for the statement that they do not use EQ. I couldn't find - which is not shocking considering my computer skills, but I am wondering if that claim has been retracted from the website recently?

 

[RD.]

http://www.canadian-aquatic-feed.com/?page_id=34

NorthFin Premium Fish Foods does not use any preservatives or harmful chemicals to preserve its product line.

The combination of certain ingredients/vitamins, along with the drying process itself allows the foods to be naturally preserved.

and then this ......

From here: http://www.oscarfish.com/forum/fish-food-ingredients/828-northfin-fish-food.html?start=12

According to Northfin, Ethoxyquin is not utilized in pre-production meals nor in their production.

And even IF all they used was botanical-based liquid antioxidants in their feed such as Naturox, that still qualifies as a preservative. Commercial grade antioxidant = preservative. To state that fish food containing krill meal, and two different forms of fish meal, does not use any preservatives - in my opinion is just plain ridiculous. I laughed that off the first time I read it, but not so funny when I saw a lab report showing 300+ ppm of ethoxyquin.

 

[DarylMac]

There it is... for some reason when I did my search I was looking "ethoxyquin free"... I didn't see the forest because of all the trees.

 

[RD.]

They even used the term "harmful chemicals" in that statement, as though other fish food manufacturers knowingly add harmful chemicals as preservatives, you know, like ethoxyquin. How ironic, eh?

 

[DarylMac]

Yes, ironic, but also disappointing. I'll be honest though, I would love to buy Canadian. I would consider buying NF if they came clean, took accountability, and outlined their path forward (kind of like NLS just did, because apparently they already endeavour to be transparent and accountable).

End of the day I'd love to help Make Canada Great Again - but not at the expense of values I hold dear.

 

[RD.]

Well let's put it this way, those lab reports began surfacing back in mid December, at which time someone off of a Canadian reef forum that uses NF supposedly contacted them (NF), and were told that they (NF) were looking into it. I suspect other customers did same. It's now mid March, and the investigation continues....

Really?

Meanwhile, the following statement on their website;

NorthFin Premium Fish Foods does not use any preservatives or harmful chemicals to preserve its product line.

...... is still there.

Everyone knows that antioxidant = preservative, and all fish food contains some form of antioxidant, whether it's natural, or synthetic, so they could have at the very least started their investigation by cleaning up their advertising/marketing statement on their website.