Insect farming

Insect farming involves breeding, rearing and harvesting insects for animal feed, human consumption, pharmceutical and cosmetic uses. The diversity of insect species includes groups highly specialized in their ability to thrive on different organic substrates as food sources. Some of these substrates resemble food wastes form agriculture and food processing industries. This is also referred to as insects-based bioconversion and represents an economically and environmentally viable method for turning large quantities of food waste into valuable materials.

Feedstock

Insects could be fed a mix of by-and co-products from the agri-food industries and with resources which are currently nog being used and not or no longer destined for human consumption, such as the so-called 'former foodstuff'. The by- and co-products may also include those derived from grains, starch, fruit and vegetable supply chains (e.g., bran, distillers grain, unsold fruit and vegetables, inclding peels) as well as products arising from the food manufacturing process.

Process and technologies

Process

Insect-based bioconversion of organic waste is the controlled breakdown of an initial feedstock (organic waste) into insect biomass and frass (waste residuals), with the latter consisting of predominantly insect frass and to a lesser extent, shed exoskeletons, dead insect parts, and potentially uneaten feedstock. The process of insect-based bioconversion mirrors the natural breakdown of organic matter in ecosystems. In such systems, naturally ocurring insects, earthworms, a wide range of other invertebrates, fungi, and bacteria colonize and break down waste, converting the nutrients for their own metabolic and reproductive needs.

Under controlled conditions, the species responsible for the decomposition process can be regulated and the ambient conditions can be optimized to favour the growth and bioconverison by the given species performing the service.

Products

Value may be produced at multiple steps in the bioconversion process. For instance, value can be gained from the elemination of the initial waste itself (disposal fees), sales of insect biomass for food and feed, sales from fractionated secondary products, and sales of the remaining bioconverted waste for soil amendments.