22 April, 2019

CIT Department of Mathematics has partnered with Kerry Group in presenting at the International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE), Atlanta, GA, USA, in February 2019.

The collaboration with Kerry Group stemmed from Continuing Professional Development Workshops facilitated by Dr Seán Lacey, Dept of Mathematics, and delivered in Kerry’s Global Technology & Innovation Centre in Nass, Co. Kildare.

As a result of the CPD workshops, Kerry Group have collaborated with Dr Lacey on various studies, most recently on this meta-analysis of a systematic review of 120 studies involving AlphaGal™ 280P.

AlphaGal™ is a unique enzyme, manufactured by Kerry that enhances the value of animal feed by improving digestibility and effectively lowering the overall cost of feed through less expensive raw materials.

The research was commissioned to extrapolate relevant qualitative and quantitative data, which could be used to determine the impact of AlphaGal™ 280P on the performance and nutrient digestibility of broilers (chickens raised for meat production).

Dr Lacey’s meta-analysis was completed using 23 independent randomized controlled trials conducted worldwide. It confirmed with greater statistical significance that AlphaGalTM 280P, an α-galactosidase based enzyme formulation, is an effective strategy for improving the performance and apparent metabolizable energy of broiler chickens.

Dr Lacey’s findings were displayed in poster form at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta, Georgia in February this year, and the results of the meta-analyses will be published in the coming months.

Sara Llamas-Moya PhD, Global Application Manager for Animal Nutrition and Pet Food at Kerry Group, said the collaboration has helped Kerry Group to translate the often-difficult message from complex statistical analysis into a clear value proposition for their global animal nutrition enzyme product portfolio. 

“As the animal nutrition market is very technical, having the support of Dr Lacey and the Department of Mathematics at CIT increases the credibility of the science that we have generated for this industry segment,” she added.

The ever-increasing growth in data generation and collection means that its value to industry is highly dependent on the appropriate analysis of the data. The Department of Mathematics expertise in statistics, data science and data analytics has led to numerous industrial collaborations making them an ideal partner for companies seeking to gain deeper insights into their data.

If you would like to find out more about collaboration opportunities within CIT, call 021 4335302 or email extendedcampus@cit.ie