In an era where feed efficiency, sustainability, and precision nutrition are redefining animal agriculture, enzymes have emerged as a critical tool in modern feed formulation. In this exclusive interaction, Julien Kanarek, Global Feed Enzymes Sr. Manager at NOVUS, shares his insights on the evolving role of enzyme technology in the feed industry.
With nearly two decades of experience in animal nutrition and feed additives, Kanarek discusses how enzymes have transitioned from basic digestibility enhancers to advanced, data-driven solutions that improve performance, optimize costs, and support sustainability. He highlights the growing importance of measuring raw material variability—particularly in widely used ingredients like soybean meal—and explains how innovations in enzyme science are helping nutritionists unlock greater value from feed. Excerpts from the interview:
Measure variability—don’t average it. Focus on what truly matters, manage variability proactively, and turn real nutritional insights into consistent performance and long-term profitability.
With nearly two decades in animal nutrition and feed additives, how have you seen the role of enzymes evolve in improving feed efficiency?
Over the past two decades, enzymes have firmly established their role in animal nutrition. What started as a simple way to help animals get more out of their feed has evolved into a sophisticated, biotech driven toolbox. Today’s enzymes are tailored to specific diets, helping to cut waste, control costs, and support sustainability. Thanks to ongoing research and growing consumer awareness, enzymes are now seen as essential — not just for feed efficiency, but for animal health, performance, and environmental impact too.
Soybean meal is considered a cornerstone of animal nutrition. Why is its nutritional value often “assumed rather than measured” in practical feed formulation?
Because soybean meal sits at the heart of the global feed market, its nutritional value is often treated as a given. Under constant price pressure, formulators lean on standard tables, while seasonal and climate-driven variability shifts composition; rarely checked, mostly assumed.
There is a common belief that heat processing neutralizes anti-nutritional factors. Why does trypsin inhibitors (TI) still remain a concern? Can you explain how TI impact protein digestibility and overall animal performance?
Heat processing does reduce many antinutritional factors, but trypsin inhibitors (TI) remain a concern because they can be relatively heat-stable, depending on the feed processing. Residual TI bind trypsin and chymotrypsin in the gut, directly limiting protein digestion. To compensate, animals overstimulate pancreatic enzyme secretion, which costs energy and amino acids. The result is poorer protein utilization, reduced growth performance, and less efficient feed conversion, especially in young and high performing animals.
NOVUS has built a global soybean database over the last decade. How does this data translate into actionable insights for customers?
By tracking soybean quality globally, NOVUS turns data into practical insight—highlighting variability in trypsin inhibitors levels. This enables customers to benchmark raw materials, quantify nutritional risk, anticipate performance impacts, and implement tailored nutritional strategies and solutions that optimize cost control, feed efficiency, and return on investment.
How do you tailor enzyme solutions for different production systems or regional challenges? Do you see enzyme technology playing a role in reducing dependence on traditional raw materials like soybean meal?
We tailor enzyme solutions by starting with the species-specific regional realities: raw material profile, animal age, gut physiology, performance targets and regional factors like heat or ingredient variability. By analyzing substrate availability (like TI) and digestive limitations, we can fine-tune enzyme recommendations to unlock nutrients where they matter most.
Looking ahead, enzyme technology absolutely supports reducing reliance on traditional ingredients like soybean meal by improving nutrient release from alternative or lower quality raw materials and therefore giving formulators more flexibility in choices and cost management.
NOVUS has recently strengthened its enzyme portfolio through the acquisition of BioResource International and its partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks. How do these strategic moves enhance your ability to develop and deliver next-generation enzyme solutions for the industry?
These strategic moves really elevate how NOVUS innovates and competes. NOVUS had been a long-time partner with BioResource International (BRI), which has manufactured our CIBENZA® Enzyme Feed Additive products since 2008. BRI brings the enzymology expertise and capabilities that NOVUS was looking for and acquiring the company was a logical next step to better serve our customers and expand our innovation pipeline.
The partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks adds world-class engineering and synthetic biology capabilities, enabling the development of more efficient and cost-effective enzymes for for customers worldwide. Together, these collaborations create a powerful, integrated innovation pipeline that addresses real feed challenges, delivers measurable customer value, and keeps NOVUS at the forefront of next-generation nutritional solutions.
Do you see the industry moving toward more data-driven, precision nutrition approaches?
Absolutely. The industry is clearly shifting toward data-driven precision nutrition. Customers are increasingly real-time ingredient analytics, performance data, and targeted technologies to make smarter decisions. This allows them to better manage variability and consistently deliver optimized performance.
What lessons can emerging markets like India learn from more mature markets in enzyme utilization?
Emerging markets like India can learn to adopt enzymes as value-creation tools by using real-time data, ROI tracking, and strategic application. Mature markets demonstrate how effective enzyme use reduces risk, improves formulation flexibility, and drives scalable, profitable growth.
You mentioned enzymes haven’t reached their full potential yet. Where do you see the next breakthroughs coming from?
The next breakthroughs will come from smarter biotechnology linked to stronger database management with a direct focus on advanced enzyme strain engineering, precision enzyme-substrate matching, and real-time ingredient analytics. By integrating enzyme R&D with AI-driven design and on-farm performance data, enzymes will become more consistent, targeted, predictable, and economically powerful than ever before.
Is the industry ready to move from “assumed nutrition” to “measured precision nutrition”? What would be your key messages to producers and nutritionists?
Yes, parts of the industry are already doing this and momentum is clearly building. Data availability, analytics, and precision technologies are finally aligned.
My key message to producers and nutritionists: measure variability, don’t average it. Measure what matters, manage variability proactively, and turn real nutritional insights into consistent performance for long term profitability.
