---
title: "Phileo by Lesaffre study finds majority of well-managed shrimp farms suffer compromised gut health"
summary: "Research presented at the Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht found that 60 percent of surveyed shrimp farms — described as modern and well-managed — had compromised or critical gut health issues, with Phileo by Lesaffre warning the problem is systemic and developing an AI-powered diagnostic tool to help farmers address it."
url: "https://feedsoft.ai/articles/phileo-by-lesaffre-study-finds-majority-of-well-managed-shrimp-farms-suffer-compromised-gut-health-c79b36de"
publisher: "The Feed Report"
section: "Aquafeed"
author: "The Feed Desk"
datePublished: "2026-10-04T16:44:38.524Z"
dateModified: "2026-10-04T16:44:38.524Z"
sources:
  - title: "Phileo by Lessafre study finds shrimp gut health could be key to increased farm yields"
    url: "https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/phileo-by-lessafre-study-finds-shrimp-gut-health-could-be-key-to-increased-farm-yields"
---

# Phileo by Lesaffre study finds majority of well-managed shrimp farms suffer compromised gut health

*Research presented at the Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht found that 60 percent of surveyed shrimp farms — described as modern and well-managed — had compromised or critical gut health issues, with Phileo by Lesaffre warning the problem is systemic and developing an AI-powered diagnostic tool to help farmers address it.*

A large-scale study by French animal biotechnology firm Phileo by Lesaffre has found that poor gut health is widespread across shrimp aquaculture operations, even on farms following the latest nutritional guidance and using modern technology, according to findings presented at the Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on 1 October 2026.

Jean-Benoit Darodes de Tailly, Phileo by Lesaffre's global business developer for shrimp, told the forum that the study examined 110 shrimp aquaculture operations across several countries over three months, generating roughly 170,000 data points. Despite describing the surveyed operations as well-equipped and well-managed, the analysis found that 60 percent had either compromised or critical gut health.

"This is once again on well-managed, modern, and well-equipped farms, so the problem is systemic," Darodes de Tailly said.

The study found that 95 percent of farms surveyed considered gut health to be important, and most were applying recognised best practices: 91 percent used probiotics, 93 percent checked water quality daily, and 72 percent checked gut health weekly. However, Darodes de Tailly noted that current health checks largely rely on visual assessments subject to observer bias.

The gut health assessments ranked shrimp from "optimal" to "severely compromised." Shrimp with better gut health had, on average, 20 percent higher bodyweight at the same age compared with shrimp with worse gut health, according to the study's findings. Poor gut health was also linked to potential nutritional problems.

Darodes de Tailly said the causes were not straightforward. "Gut health is more than just a nutrition issue; it reflects the entire production environment of the shrimp," he said, adding that poor health did not follow any singular pattern and was likely caused by a collection of factors.

The company noted the economic stakes for producers. "Nutrition is 60 percent of the operating costs of a shrimp farm, and we optimize what we give shrimp but we rarely look at how they receive it," Darodes de Tailly said.

In response to the findings, Phileo by Lesaffre said it has developed an AI-powered diagnostic tool that uses image analysis to assess gut health objectively, removing reliance on human visual judgement and accelerating assessment speed. The tool employs a microscope compatible with a mobile phone. The company said it is working with industry partners to deploy the tool so that farmers can move from reactive to preventive gut health management.

"We know what we give shrimp, but we barely understand what's happening inside," Darodes de Tailly said, describing the overarching motivation behind the research programme.

## Sources

- [Phileo by Lessafre study finds shrimp gut health could be key to increased farm yields](https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/phileo-by-lessafre-study-finds-shrimp-gut-health-could-be-key-to-increased-farm-yields)

*Cite as: The Feed Report, "Phileo by Lesaffre study finds majority of well-managed shrimp farms suffer compromised gut health", https://feedsoft.ai/articles/phileo-by-lesaffre-study-finds-majority-of-well-managed-shrimp-farms-suffer-compromised-gut-health-c79b36de (as of 2026-10-04).*