Animal Feed: Green Light for Insect Meal in Aquaculture

Since July 1, insect protein has been approved for use in feed for farmed fish in Europe. About ten French startups have already entered the insect farming sector, a promising new industry that is seeing a surge in new companies. After fish, their goal is to also feed pigs and poultry with these insect meals by 2020, and in the longer term, to produce for the green chemistry and human food sectors. The European animal feed market, which consumes more than one million metric tons of fish meal per year, is now open to them.   Since July 1, 2017, the European Union has authorized the use of animal proteins derived from certain insects to feed farmed fish. As a result, salmon, trout, and tilapia can now be fed insect meal derived from seven species: the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), the housefly (Musca domestica), the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), the small dark mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), the house cricket (Acheta domesticus), the tropical house cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus), and the steppe cricket (Gryllus assimilis). Each year in France, the aquaculture sector consumes nearly 52,000 metric tons of feed composed, among other things, of protein. Insects raised for the production of processed animal proteins are considered livestock and are therefore subject to animal feed regulations. Thus, the use of proteins derived from ruminants, kitchen and table scraps, meat-and-bone meal, and manure is prohibited in their feed. Furthermore, they must be processed in facilities exclusively dedicated to this production. The International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF), which brings together producers in the sector, welcomes Brussels’ approval, which marks an important step toward the development of the European and global market for insect production as a source of protein for animal feed—and, eventually, for human consumption.   https://youtu.be/Fkx-18panpg In France, the company Ynsect, founded in 2011 by Antoine Hubert, is leading the way. In five years, the company—which produces, among other things, a high-protein, defatted insect meal made from mealworm larvae—has raised some 35 million euros and is preparing to transform its pilot facility, located in the Jura region, into a large-scale breeding and processing plant. It now aims to produce approximately 20,000 metric tons of insect protein per year for use in pet and livestock feed, as an alternative to fish meal.   https://youtu.be/elMo6n2w_5w   Alongside Ynsect’s industrial-scale farming operations, NextAlim is rolling out small-scale units across the country and focusing on raising the black soldier fly, known for its ability to break down organic matter. Entomo Farm has chosen to operate as a cooperative, offering farmers the opportunity to dedicate their unused buildings to worm farming in order to supply larvae to a processing facility based in Libourne. Its goal is to produce 400 metric tons of insect meal as early as next year. https://youtu.be/vCkHdO3glT4   For its part, Mutatec has focused on bioconversion and, since January 2015, has been working to recycle biomass waste (agricultural and agri-food residues) to convert 300 kg per week of fly larvae into raw material for animal feed. The goal is to increase production capacity to eventually reach 1,000 metric tons of larvae per year. For Christophe Trespeuch, a veterinarian and one of the four partners of the startup based near Châteaurenard (Vaucluse), insects are a healthy and sustainable food source, the closest to a natural diet. Their approval for use in aquaculture represents a major commercial opportunity for Mutatec, which is seeking to raise between 2.5 and 4 million euros this year, with a revenue target of 4 million by 2021. These funds will be used, in particular, to create an automated pilot farm in the Avignon region, dedicated to raising the larvae and processing them into protein concentrate. https://youtu.be/DV-1bwfI89k   For now, all the startups in the sector—though innovative and ambitious—are unable to produce in sufficient quantities to supply animal feed cooperatives, which are still assessing the nutritional qualities of this new raw material. The arrival of insect proteins—even those produced in France (a guarantee of quality and traceability)—is disrupting a market dominated by grains, soy, and fish meal (80% of which comes from abroad). However, despite the uncertainties, the insect farming industry is confident of its future success: according to IPIFF, it has already invested a total of some 100 million euros.