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Insects to feed the world
The black soldier fly has a very fast growth cycle, needing 14-22 days to grow from the egg to larvae stage, and a further 7-12 days to the pupae stage
Insects can play a key role in meeting food and feed demand as the world’s population grows and land, water and resources become increasingly scarce, according to the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF).
Insect production is more sustainable compared with rearing animals, requiring a limited amount of land and water (see Figure 1 below) and less feeding substrate,
Source: Buhler Insects are a source of protein and fat which can be utilised as food and feed to meet the demands of a growing world population. However, the industry faces challenges such as consumer acceptance and legislation Serena Lim
resulting in less CO2 emissions.
“The global population is expected to reach 9bn by 2050 and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the world needs to increase its food production by 70% by that time,” the EU non-profit organisation says.
“Meat consumption and demand is forecast to increase by 72% between 2000 and 2030, while 60M tonnes of protein are projected to be missing by 2030 in order to meet the expected demand.”
Growing enough protein to rear animals for meat will have a considerable impact on the environment, particularly as 85% of the world’s arable land is already in use, according to Swiss technology and equipment supplier Bühler.
Bühler says that four plant-based proteins are needed on average to make one animal-based protein and insects are a sustainable and new source of protein and fat – for feed and food – which do not require fertile land.
“By recycling nutrients from organic waste and bringing them back into the local food value chain, insect production contributes to a circular economy,” says Bühler (see Figure 2, following page).
As a food, insects are rich in protein and oil and contain essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals, according to the IPIFF. As animal feed, insects: • Have a high protein content and beneficial nutrients such as fats, minerals and vitamins, with protein concentration levels in insect feed varying between 55% and 75%. • Offer a high feed conversion rate as they are very efficient at turning agricultural by-products or bio-waste into oil and protein ingredients. • Are already a natural component of the diets of animals such as carnivorous fish, poultry and pigs.
Insect production
Speaking at the 18th Euro Fed Lipid Congress in October 2021, Geert Verheyen from Belgium’s Thomas More University of Applied Sciences said that insects are the most diverse group of u
Figure 2: Insects contribute to a circular economy
Source: Bühler
Figure 3: Rearing and processing of black soldier fly
Source: Bühler
Insect
Black soldier fly
Mealworm Capacity
Pilot Medium Large Medium Wet feedstock intake
5-25 tonnes/day 50-150 tonnes/day 200-500 tonnes/day 5-25 tonnes/day
Figure 4: Plant capacities for black soldier fly and mealworm Wet larvae processing
0.5-1 tonnes/day 2-3 tonnes/day 4-7 tonnes/day 0.5-1 tonnes/day
Source: Bühler
animals on the planet.
“They are widespread across the world, living in areas ranging from deserts, to cold climates, to oceans.”
There are about one million species of insects but most of the focus on insects for food and feed has focused on the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus).
In its Insect Technology Brochure, Bühler says that mealworm (MW) is easy to handle and has a pleasant, nutty taste, while the black soldier fly (BSF) can be reared on a wide range of organic side streams and has a very fast growth cycle (see Figure 3, above).
Proper feedstock preparation is the first order of business for any successful insect plant, according to Bühler.
“The objective is to transform the different organic residues in a timely manner into safe, palatable and nourishing feed for insects.”
Wet and dry organic residues are stored in silos before they are mixed into a proper feedstock. If required, additional treatments such as grinding and/or heat treatment can be applied.
The optimal feed mix consistency is achieved by using fibre-rich residues to adjust the free water content.
“While BSF larvae consume their feed in slurry form, MW grow optimally in a more dry substrate.”
The insect facility should be built as close as possible to where the organic residues accumulate to minimise transport costs.
Feedstock examples include agricultural residues such as fruit and vegetable leftovers; consumer and supermarket discards such as old bread and kitchen waste; and industrial by-products such as distillers’ grains, brewer’s spent grains and yeast, fruit vegetable and potato cutoffs, fruit or sugar beet pulp, vinasee and molasses, dairy or tofu industry residues, corn slurry, wine remains, rice and wheat bran, reject grains, and oil cakes/pomace.
However, local regulations should also be taken into account as they can limit feedstock options (see ‘EU insect rearing, feed and food rules’, p42).
Rearing facilities make up the largest part of an insect plant with the aim of efficiently growing young larvae to their ideal harvesting weight in the shortest possible time. Rearing units contain stacked crates that are automatically filled, harvested and cleaned, with accurate and consistent dosing of feedstock.
With BSF larvae, the aim is to gently defat the larvae to achieve protein meals and lipids via a wet processing route.
The processing lines are separated into two key areas – pre-processing to sieve and wash live larvae from the rearing residue before pureeing. A puree processing line pasteurises and defats the puree, and purifies the protein-rich fraction through evaporation.
With mealworm, there is a range of different processing technologies depending on the desired food application. As a first step, live larvae are carefully separated from the rearing residue and there is then a well-defined cooking step to ensure safe end products.
Finally, the larvae are turned into shelf-stable food ingredients, either still recognisable as whole insects in frozen or dried form, or as insect flour. The food ingredients can be processed further into finished products using technologies such as extrusion for products like pasta, breakfast cereals, meat analogues, cookies, wafers and biscuits.
The final processing step is to transform rearing residues into high-quality fertiliser or soil amendments for application in agriculture and horticultural. The wet residue can be transformed into dried fertiliser pellets or processed to inactivate potential live larvae and sold directly to nearby farmers, fertiliser production companies or biogas plants.
Nutritional composition
The nutritional composition of insects varies depending on their species but generally comprises around 49-60% protein, 20-30% fat/oil and 5-12% fibre, the Euro Fed Lipid Congress heard.
Insect oils perform similarly to vegetable oils in terms of their texture, flavour and fatty acid profile, according to the ‘Breaking Down Fats and Oils’ report, published in July 2021 by sustainability NGO Forum for the Future.
There is a large variation in their fatty acid profile, depending on the species (see Figure 5, right). The nutrient composition of insects also depends on their life cycle stage and factors such as gender. The nutrient composition of insects can also be affected by the diet they are fed.
BSF raised on fish waste substrates showed increased omega-3 DHA and EPA levels, for example, the congress heard.
Food applications
Insect oils can be used to complement or replace vegetable oils and animal fats in myriad applications, according to the Forum for the Future report.
“They’re also compatible with a diverse variety of food products including salty snacks, sweets and meat analogues.”
They can be eaten whole in frozen or dried form, or processed into flour or food ingredients to be used in products such as pasta, cereals, meat analogues, cookies and biscuits.
Recent research has evaluated the use of insect oils as a complement to butter in waffles or as a butter analogue, referred to as ‘insect margarine’, the Forum for the Future report says. However, the major barrier to insect-derived foods reaching more mainstream appeal in the food industry is consumer acceptance.
“In Western society, there is great reluctance to eat insects although more people are willing to eat processed products such as burgers,” according to Daylan Tzompa-Sosa of Ghent University’s Food Structure and Function (FSF) Research Group.
There are 1,900 recorded edible insect species, mostly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania, she told the Euro Fed Lipid conference.
In Africa, 500 insect species are eaten, including caterpillars, termites and insects gathered from bushes and farmland, which are consumed, sold at local markets or exported to cities.
In countries where insects are not recognised as food, curiosity, health and sustainability concerns drive the first sampling. But these reasons are not enough to lead to a second purchase
Comp 2 (18.3%)
Insect oils
2
Vegetable oils
Vegetable fats Animal fats
ω-3 ω-6
1.5
1
PUFA
0.5
SC FA UFA
SFA -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 VLC SFA 0 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
LC SFA
MC SFA
MUFA
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
Cocoa butter Palm
Comp 1 (48%) Mutton tallow Butter Lard
-2.5
Zophobas Yellow meal worm Lesser mealworm Cricket Cockroach
Rapeseed Sesame seed Sunflower seed Pumpkin seed Corn
Soybean Quinoa Olive
PUFA omega_6
SC_SFA Linear (Cricket) Linear (Soybean) Linear (VLC_SFA) LC_SFA MC_SFA SFA VLC_SFA Beef tallow Colza
Fish Linseed Cottonseed Rape low erucic UFA MUFA
omega_3 Linear (Cricket)
Figure 5: Fatty acid composition of insect oils vs animal and vegetable oils and fats
Point 68 offers a luxury face oil containing extracts of black soldier fly larvae or regular consumption if the first taste experience is not good, Tzompa-Sosa said. “It’s important to avoid a first bad impression as consumers won’t try it again.”
Reduced visibility of the insects, such as using insect as an ingredient rather than eating insects directly, is also helpful.
In a trial where BSF larvae fat supplied by Dutch insect ingredient supplier Protix partially replaced butter in bakery products, it was found that there was no change in consumer preferences, sensorial perception or in the physical properties of products when there was a partial substitution of butter at up to 50% substitution in waffles and 25% substitution in cookies and cakes, the Euro Fed Lipid conference heard.
Another study looked at the partial and total substitution of vegetable oil with yellow mealworm (YMW) insect oil in food products. It found that 100% substitution with deodorised YMW oil supplied by French insect ingredient supplier Ynsect could be achieved in crackers without a fall in consumer preference with consumers liking a vegetable oildeodorised YMW oil blend the most.
Feed applications
Given the issue of consumer acceptance, it is likely that insect oils will play a far greater role in the animal feed industry, the Forum for the Future report says.
“Insect meals and oils have been successfully trialled on aquaculture, poultry and swine. In the EU, these ingredients are now authorised for such use, as well as for pet food.”
Heinrich Katz, CEO of German insect protein production firm Hermetia Baruth, and executive board member of the IPIFF, says insect meal is the best replacement product for fish meal. u
EU insect rearing, feed and food rules
Insects as farmed animals While insects have been hailed as efficient bio-converters of waste, EU regulations limit the waste-streams they can be fed. If insects are reared for food or feed, they are classified as farmed animals. This means they can only be fed with materials of vegetal origin, with some exceptions (such as milk, eggs and their products, honey and rendered fat or blood products from non-ruminant animals), according to the IPIFF.
Most insect producers in the EU rely on agri-food by-products or co-products, such as wheat bran or fruit and vegetable peels, or former foodstuffs originally intended for human consumption to feed their insects, the IPIFF says.
Third country producers intending to export insects or their derived products – as food or feed – into the EU must also comply with similar or equivalent EU rules.
Insects and their derived products – excluding live insects – intended for use in animal feed are also considered ‘animal by-products’ and fall under EU animal byproducts legislation.
Insects as feed In 2017, the EU authorised the use of insect proteins for aquafeed. In April 2021, EU member states voted to approve the use of insect processed animal proteins (PAPs) in poultry and pig feed, with the rule coming into force on 7 September 2021.
Insect-derived proteins are now allowed for use in pig, poultry and aqua feed and pet food (such as for dogs, cats, birds or reptiles) and fur animals, such as mink.
Source: IPIFF regulatory brochure
Insects as food Edible insects and insect-containing foods are considered ‘novel’ foods under the EU’s revised novel foods legislation, which came into effect on 1 January 2018.
Before a product can be sold in the EU, it requires pre-market authorisation, which involves a company submitting an application to the European Commission (EC), a safety evaluation of by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and a favourable vote by EU member states.
Authorisations are based on individual company applications and are product specific. This means that if one company receives approval for a specific insect product, another company must still apply for approval for the same product.
In the EU so far, only dry whole or powdered yellow mealworm (produced by SAS EAP Group Agronutris) and frozen, dried and powder forms of migratory locusts (produced by Fair Insects BV) have been authorised for human consumption, which received EC authorisation on 1 June 2021 and 12 November 2021, respectively.
On 10 February 2022, the EC also authorised frozen, dried and powder forms of house cricket as a snack or food ingredient (produced by Fair Insects) and Fair Insects’ yellow mealworm.
In addition, the EFSA is currently assessing nine other novel food insect applications. u
“It takes 30M tonnes of fish to produce 6M tonnes of fish meal,” he told the European Fat Processors and Renderers Association Congress in May. “And you need 3kg of fish meal for 1kg of salmon.”
Katz says fish meal is an ecological and economical critical resource due to overfishing and rising prices, and insect meal is a proven alternative to fish meal.
Non-food applications
Several companies have focused on the potential of insect oils for substitution in cosmetic and personal care applications.
US company SIBU, in partnership with insect industry professional Josh Galt, offers a luxury face oil containing extracts of BSF larvae, as well as sea buckthorn, argan and sunflower oils.
According to SIBU, BSF larvae oil is particularly high in lauric acid, the medium chain fatty acid also found in coconut oil.
The Belgian cosmetics firm Mylène has also looked at oils extracted from BSF, locusts, house crickets and mealworm to evaluate their use in hand cream formulations, Verheyen said.
The company had used mink oil as a side stream of the mink fur industry but wanted to explore other sources of oil due to ethical and sustainability concerns.
Their conclusions were that cricket and locust oil had a favourable fatty acid profile for use in skin creams but rearing them was less convenient and refining processes needed to be improved to reduce factors such as free fatty acids (FFAs), colour and odour.
BSF fat is also a potential feedstock for surfactants as its fatty acid profile is similar to coconut and palm kernel (PKO) oils, with a high lauric acid content, Verheyen told the Euro Fed Lipid conference.
Conclusion
Insects offer a unique opportunity to address the challenges of protein supply and organic waste disposal, Bühler says.
“Roughly one-third of food intended for human consumption is lost or wasted every year. This accounts for some 1.3bn tonnes of food that never reaches our tables. This is not only a loss of valuable nutrtional resources but also a challenge in terms of disposal. In many regions, landfill or incineration are the prevalent solutions for dealing with food waste.
“Insects close the loop on organic waste as they recycle nutrients that are otherwise lost and bring them back into the food value chain. Today, this sustainable solution is not only feasible – it can be realised on a large scale and in an economical way.” Serena Lim is the editor of OFI
