Currently, Europe’s high demand for feed protein is largely met through imported soya. Around 80 percent of crop proteins per year are imported, with 60 percent used for livestock feed.

1. C
urrently, Europe’s high demand for
feed protein is largely met through
imported soya. Around 80 percent of
crop proteins per year are imported,
with 60 percent used for livestock
feed.
At the same time, per-capita
meat consumption is increasing in
developing countries. To address this
growing demand for meat, novel and additional sources of protein
for animal feed must be identified.
For generations, insects have been a valuable source of protein
for human consumption across continents other than Europe.
With increasing demand for food worldwide, particularly
meat and fish, insects also have the potential to be utilised as
a natural ingredient in high-protein animal feed. They are far
cheaper and require fewer resources to rear than traditional
sources.
For the past four years, the EC-funded project PROteINSECT
has been evaluating insects as a novel source of protein for
animal feed, whilst ensuring that methodologies are sustainable,
safe and economically viable. The project has 12 partners from
seven countries across Europe, Africa and Asia and is co-
ordinated by Fera Science Ltd in the United Kingdom.
The project is investigating the use of fly larvae, fed on a range
of organic waste materials, as a protein source. There is already
considerable expertise in this area in Mali, Ghana and China, and
PROteINSECT has connected with partners in these countries.
The project will close in April this year.
Dr Elaine Fitches from FERA Science Ltd, Co-ordinator of the
PROteINSECT global consortium, said at the project’s launch
in 2012, “The potential of insects as a source of valuable protein
has been recognised by scientists for a number of years. With
expertise in entomology and food safety, [Fera Science Ltd] is
ideally placed to lead the evaluation of insects as a sustainable
source of protein in animal feed.”
Consumer acceptance, the first hurdle
One of the main challenges to the introduction of insects to
animal feed (and human food) in Europe is consumer perception.
There is little point in making meat fed on insects publicly
available if no one will buy it.
To map attitudes, PROteINSECT launched two separate
consumer surveys. The first ran from October 2013 to April 2014,
and second from March to October 2015. Each had over 1300
respondents across 71 countries.
The first survey quizzed participants on whether they would be
happy to eat chicken, pork or fish derived from animals fed with
insect protein. Over 70 percent of respondents stated that they
would be willing to do this and only 6.5 percent said that they
would not. This was a surprisingly positive response considering
the unfamiliarity of insects as food and feed in Western cultures
and their reputation as a ‘novelty food’.
The overwhelming majority (88.2%) of respondents said more
information should be available on the use of insects as a food
source for both animals and humans. More than half (52.4%)
would be put off eating meat fed on a diet containing insect
Feed of the future?
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2. protein simply because they don’t know enough about the topic.
While presenting the results of the first survey Rhonda Smith,
head of project communications, said, “The results suggest that
people are more accepting of the idea of insects in food and feed
than we might have predicted. But there is a clear desire for
more information on this topic to be made available and we need
continued public engagement to increase awareness.”
This survey did not map attitudes to insects when compared to
other sources of protein. It was therefore revised before its re-
release the following year, to gauge public opinion of current and
potential protein sources in animal feed.
Insect protein versus other sources
The second survey questioned participants on their knowledge
of what is currently fed to animals and, again, how they would
feel about eating meat from animals fed on insects.
This time respondents were asked to rank insect protein against
other commonly used protein sources, such as fish meal, feather
meal, seaweed and grass. The results reiterated that many people
would not object to the idea of insect protein in animal feed. This
was still true in comparison to other sources, with insect-based
proteins actually ranked higher than commonly-used fish meal.
This survey was intentionally promoted to the general public,
people with no prior knowledge of animal feed or insects as a
protein source. This was to achieve a completely unbiased view
of attitudes.
The English language survey was first to be analysed, and
revealed that over 80 percent of respondents thought insects
were a suitable feed for livestock, with three out of every four
believing insect meal posed low or no risk to human health.
However, there was a 20 percent difference in how much
knowledge consumers had around this topic compared to how
much they felt they should have, suggesting that there is still
work to be done in informing the general public appropriately.
This has been noted by PROteINSECT as a major challenge in
the viability of using insect protein in feed and food long-term.
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3. Status review and analysis
In May 2015 the project released its Consensus Business Case
(CBC) report, a review and analysis of the current status of
insects as a viable, sustainable, additional source of protein. This
was produced using opinions from key European stakeholders
including those from feed industry, research, insect producers and
supermarkets.
The CBC functioned as an up-to-date interpretation of the
information available around insects’ potential and an indicator
of the project’s next steps. As noted by Dr Fitches, “It is only
by understanding the current state of play in Europe that we can
ensure key decision makers are appropriately informed, so that
researchers and stakeholders can work together to discern the
most effective approaches moving forward.”
The report acknowledged the current protein deficit and the
potential benefits of using insects as a sustainable source. The
production and processing of insects was noted as an area
requiring focus.
Since then feeding trials have investigated different ways to
do this, outlining potential challenges and assessing palatability
of insect protein for the animal. The report also acknowledged
lack of current investigation into the quality and safety of insect
protein, where robust data will be necessary for regulatory
authorities to allow insects in animal feed.
This report made clear current attitudes around the subject
and outlined the next steps for
PROteINSECT. These include
developing pilot-stage experiments
and feeding trials, creating nutrition
profiles for insect-based protein, and
developing a life cycle analysis with
full results from assessments in all
areas.
It also included results from the first
survey, encouraging greater public
engagement and education.
European scientific opinion
In early 2015 DG SANTE requested
an opinion from the European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) on how
viable, from a safety viewpoint, they
judged the idea of insect protein. The
work of PROteINSECT both shaped
this request and sped up its submission.
Published in October 2015, EFSA’s ‘Risk profile related
to production and consumption of insects as food and feed’
concluded that where currently allowed feed materials are
used to feed the insects, insect protein itself should not pose
any additional risk for animal feed compared to other sources.
The use of other substrates to feed insects destined for animal
feed, such as organic wastes, must be specifically evaluated for
safety.
Overall, there was no health reason identified to prevent the
inclusion of insects in animal feed. However the committee
called for ongoing, further research, and noted that “for both
biological and chemical hazards, the specific production methods,
the substrate used, the stage of harvest, the insect species, as well
as the methods used for further processing will all have an impact
on the possible presence of biological and chemical contaminants
in insect food and feed products.”
The ongoing work of PROteINSECT aims to help address
these ‘uncertainties’, for example by developing robust risk
assessment work carried out at both European and national levels.
Dr Fitches described the opinion as “an important stepping stone
in furthering our understanding of the potential of insects as a
protein source”, and confirmed that “PROteINSECT’s partners
are ideally positioned to contribute robust data to help fill the
current knowledge gaps related to the use of insect protein in
animal feed.”
Showcasing work in Africa
The same month as EFSA published
its opinion, African partners from
PROteINSECT released a film - titled
‘Feeding Insects to Farmed Animals’
- to showcase the potential of insect-
based animal feed and share their
expertise with other farmers, across
Africa, in Europe and worldwide.
The film featured a Mali-based
insect feed facility headed up by
leading sustainability researcher
N’Golope Kone.
Dr Marc Kenis, a PROteINSECT
partner and entomologist at
the Centre for Agriculture and
Biosciences International (CABI),
appeared in the film. In it, he says,
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5. “These feeding trials are a key stage in our search for a more
sustainable source of protein than those currently in use. Insect
flour offers huge potential as an added, economically-viable,
‘home-grown’ protein source for farmers who have traditionally
relied upon fish meal and soy flour.”
‘Novel feed’ facilities such as those in Mali have a valuable
role in promoting self-sufficiency and providing opportunities for
growth across Africa, particularly as there are many farms owned
and worked by smallholders there.
Dr Sidi Traore, a poultry farmer from Bamako (Mali) who
is featured in the film, said, “I think this is an extraordinary
opportunity because currently it is very difficult to have a stable
and affordable food production which can provide enough
protein.”
The film demonstrates the idea’s potential while acknowledging
that famers could face restrictions on importing their meat, from
animals reared on insect protein, into Europe. Further safety
testing is essential before such meat becomes widely available for
human consumption.
Award for innovation and potential
PROteINSECT’s work, and its contribution to the ongoing
discussion around the potential of insect protein for feed and
food – particularly in Europe, where the concept is emerging -
was recognised by the CommBeBiz Awards in October 2015.
CommBeBiz is an EC-funded project working with bioeconomy
researchers and their projects to enable effective
and speedier transfer of knowledge to key
stakeholders including industry and policy
players.
As one of only eight EC-funded projects to
win, PROteINSECT presented its work at the
European Business Network (EBN) Congress
in Brussels on 29th October, to an audience of
judges, industry experts, EBN’s bioeconomy
special interest group and the media. The
project was awarded a tailored support package,
through which they requested help with the
project’s development both scientifically and
commercially.
“It’s an exciting time to be involved in the
alternative protein market and this award opens
many more avenues to us, both to identify and
set in motion important ‘next steps’ beyond
the close of the project and to keep the public
up-to-date with our research and results,” said
Dr Fitches.
Countryfile and UK exposure
Feeding trials of pigs in Belgium were
featured on the BBC’s flagship rural affairs
show Countryfile, broadcast on 29th November
2015.
Presenter Tom Heap interviewed expert
researchers and local farmers managing the
trials about the benefits of an insect-based feed,
as well as questioning how viable it would be
long-term.
The feature had an audience of over seven
million, according to overnight figures, and
provoked discussion on several social media
platforms. The show also exclusively revealed
the first results from the second consumer
survey, demonstrating that the public were not
opposed to the idea of insects in feed.
Next steps for PROteINSECT
Prior to the end of the project in April this year, partners will
publish and present a White Paper to the European Parliament.
This will ensure that an up-to-date resource is available to
parliamentarians and regulators to support ongoing discussions
and decision making, beyond the lifespan of the project itself.
The work of PROteINSECT has already made a significant
contribution to the insect protein feed debate and will retain value
over the coming years, as moves are made to tackle the protein
deficit and the farming landscape shifts to reflect the changing
needs of consumers, feed producers, meat suppliers and the planet.
For further information on the project, visit the website www.
proteinsect.eu.
Author: Rhonda Smith, director of Minerva
Communications
Project description: PROteINSECT is an EC-
funded project investigating the viability of
using insects as a protein source in animal
feed (fish, chickens and pigs). Fly larvae
are a natural component of these animals’
diets and provide a rich source of highly
digestible protein. The project focuses on the
determination of safety and quality criteria
for insect protein products, evaluation of
processing methodologies and building a pro-insect platform in
Europe, including examination of the regulatory framework.
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