IPPE: BioZyme showcases AO-Biotics Innovation for laying hens

20 March 2025

3 minute read

By: Phoenix Mintus

North America

Dr. Fernando Bargo, the Senior Manager of Business Development and Innovation at BioZyme was interviewed by The Poultry Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the International Processing and Production Expo (IPPE) 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.

What does BioZyme offer to producers?

BioZyme is a company based in St. Joseph, Missouri, close to Kansas City. We are experts and we focus on fermentation of Aspergillus Oryzae. Aspergillus Oryzae is our bio factory. By fermenting Aspergillus Oryzae, we produce our line of fighters, which are called AO-Biotics. 

We produce prebiotics and postbiotics. Outside of the US, we are in almost in 40 countries, including Canada, Mexico, most of the Latin American countries, most of the European countries and several countries in Asia. Personally, I take care of the business in Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Asia. In Asia, we have a strong presence in China, Japan, South Korea, India and Thailand. 

What is AO-Biotics? 

AO-Biotic is our line of additives. We currently have two products, a prebiotic, which is full of substrate for the macro biota. The prebiotic is called Amaferm. It's been in the market for more than four decades. It focuses on ruminants, both dairy and beef, on the fiber utilization and nitrogen efficiencies. When included in the diet, it allows producers to save feed costs because they can feed more fiber and better utilize the nitrogen in the diets of either beef or dairy cattle. 

Two years ago, we launched a product for poultry. This product is best with laying hens. It's within the category of postbiotics, a brand new category. Postbiotics focus on immunology. When you add only 50 grams per ton of AO-Biotics EQE, our egg quality enhancer, for three to four weeks pre-laying, it will build up the immunology of the hen and result in more egg production. It will result in improved egg quality in terms of size and shell strength. After week 65-70, when egg production starts reducing and the mortality is increasing, it will reduce mortality of the hens.

We have results for more than half a million hens in more than eight countries, some countries in Europe and Latin America. We are growing and quite excited about it. 

How are postbiotics different from probiotics?

Probiotics are a common technology being used. When you decide to use a probiotic, you decide to put a live microorganism in a microbiota in the gut of an animal. This can improve performance. When you use the strategy of pre or postbiotics, you choose to implement something that has no live cells. There's no enzymatic activity. There is nothing living there. It acts as food or software for the energy harvesting macrobiotic. It's a completely different strategy. 

One of the key advantages of pre and postbiotics is that they’re much more stable. You can use it in imperative feed. They resist heat, treatment, and moisture. In terms of performance, it's much less diet independent. Regardless of the diet you're feeding, or if you have variations in the diet, it will work. It will deliver results. Amaferm provides better fiber utilization, nitrogen efficiency, and in the case of EQE more egg production.

It's especially important for the customer to demand that we, the suppliers of additives like prebiotics and postbiotics, can prove the mode of action. Once you know the mode of action or when the mode of action is very well established, it makes sense to use it to improve performance or economic results. 

Should producers look at the data that proves the effectiveness of additives?

The first screen in this technology of additive should be the science behind it. We are proud of how much money, science and data we have invested in research. We will keep doing that because it will give customers the peace of mind that the product will work and respond in a very consistent manner. 

Does it impact return on investment? 

Yes. At the end of the day, producers care about animal welfare and animal health. The economics is also important, there must be a return on investment. Our products have at least five to one return on investment. Our products allow the nutritionists and consultants to do a better job in terms of formulating and utilizing the nutrients better. The nutrients, some of them are expensive like nitrogen, like protein, so we need to be very efficient in terms of making money out of those nutrients.