Pigs of the future may feed on insects

Monday, October 6, 2014

At the Bpex Innovation Conference 2014, MeatInfo.co.uk reports, pig feed specialist Mick Hazzledine predicted that, by 2020, producers will be feeding their pigs on insect protein.

Feeding insects to animals is not permitted in the EU, except in aquaculture. But Prof. Arnold van Huis, a tropical entomologist from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, told Food Manufacturer.co.uk he expects that to change very soon. Currently, insect feedstuff is costly to produce, but the use of automated production techniques would make it a competitor with traditional feeds like soy protein, says van Huis.

Hazzledine points to large-scale projects like EU-based Proteinsect as evidence that the concept is being taken seriously. And, MeatInfo says, Dutch aquaculture feed company Coppens has already positioned itself to enter the pork industry by signing a deal with insect producer Protix Biosystems to include black soldier fly fat and protein in its livestock feed whenever the legislation gives the green light. In Canada, where insect feedstuff is not allowed either, businesses like Vancouver's Enterra, reached by email, are "working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to have them review black soldier fly larvae as a novel feed ingredient." BP