Valorization of shrimp waste meal through organic acid treatment: Impact on broilers performance, serum metabolites, digestibility, meat quality, and economic feasibility.

Shrimp waste meal (SWM), is a protein rich by-product whose utilization is limited by high-chitin and ash content. Organic acid-treatment may improve its nutritive value, allowing higher inclusion in broiler diets. Therefore, present study evaluated the effects of citric- and formic acid-treated SWM on growth, digestibility, serum metabolites, meat quality, and profitability in broilers over 35-day. For trial-1, 240 Cobb-500 chicks were allocated to four groups: control, corn-soybean meal (SBM) without SWM; untreated SWM (USWM), citric acid-treated SWM (CSWM), and formic acid-treated SWM (FSWM), with 25% SBM replaced by untreated or treated SWM. For trial-2, 300 Cobb-500 chicks were assigned to five groups: FSWM0 (control) without FSWM, and FSWM25, FSWM50, FSWM75, and FSWM100, where SBM was replaced with 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% FSWM, respectively. In trial-1, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio in the FSWM group were comparable with the control, whereas USWM and CSWM resulted in poorer performance (P < 0.05). The CSWM and FSWM groups had lower abdominal fat and serum triglycerides concentrations than the control and USWM groups (P < 0.001). FSWM displayed higher dry matter, nitrogen, and chitin digestibility than USWM and CSWM (P < 0.05). Meat redness was optimum in USWM, followed by FSWM and CSWM (P < 0.05). In trial-2: performance declined in the FSWM75 and FSWM100 groups, with no variation in the control, FSWM25, and FSWM50 groups. Serum triglycerides decreased linearly with increasing FSWM inclusion (P = 0.006). Nitrogen and ash retention remained unchanged in the control, FSWM25, and FSWM50 groups but decreased in FSWM75 and FSWM100, alongside a decline (P = 0.001) in chitin digestibility. Meat redness increased in FSWM groups compared with the control (P < 0.05). The benefit-cost ratio was similar among the control, FSWM25, and FSWM50 groups but decreased in FSWM75 and FSWM100. Therefore, formic acid-treated SWM outperformed untreated and citric acid-treated SWM in broiler diets. Formic acid-treated SWM can replace 50% SBM, maintaining growth, digestibility, and profitability, while improving meat quality.