Dive Brief:
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Bühler Insect Technology is building Europe’s first black soldier fly processing plant to provide more sustainable animal feed for pigs, chicken, fish and domestic animals, according to Ingredients Network.
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The insects will be fed organic byproducts from local distilleries, food producers and vegetable collectors, and can recover up to 70% of nutrients from these underutilized products, allowing them to be recycled back into the food chain. Currently, about 60% of the world’s plant proteins derived from wheat, corn, rice and soybeans is used for animal feed. Another 15% is wasted. With growing global demand for protein, alternative sources are becoming increasingly important.
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The plant will be built in the Netherlands and is scheduled to start production in the first half of 2018.
Dive Insight:
Several companies have promoted the idea of insects as a sustainable protein source for human consumption in recent years, but in most western markets, the disgust factor is a major hurdle — as is confusion about whether they are allowed in food. Information from the USDA suggests that whole ground insects could be sold without the need for additional regulatory approval, and they are turning up in cricket bars, snacks and protein powders. However, others argue that the Food and Drug Administration's GRAS designation standards should be applied to insects if they are used as an ingredient.
Incorporating insects into animal feed is another way to make use of all this nutritious protein but, until recently, the sector had been held back by restrictive legislation in the European Union and the United States. Last year, the EU gave the green light to the use of insects in fish feed starting this month. This was a major breakthrough for the insect protein industry, and a big step toward breaking the EU’s dependency on imports.
Currently about 70% of the region’s protein-rich animal feed comes from outside of the EU. Companies like Bühler Insect Technology are banking on an extension of that approval for other animals, including poultry and pigs.
Black soldier flies from Canadian firm Enterra also gained approval for use in fish and poultry feed from the FDA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last year, potentially paving the way for further insect-based feed ingredients.
Research among Belgian consumers has suggested that most people are not averse to the idea of bug-fed meat, even if they are more cautious about eating insects as a food ingredient.