Difference between revisions of "Insect farming"

The feedstock can be untreated by- or co-products from the agri-food industries. Possible pre-treatments include pasteurisation, enzymatic digestion, addition of nutrients or dry yeast<ref name=":0" />, drying and shredding. Vassileios Varelas describes possible pre-treatments in relation to the texture of the feed and the feeding habits of the farmed insects: "Liquid diets can be used after encapsulation using different materials (paraffin, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene) to mimic artificial eggs, a treatment step needed for their containment and presentation, while liquids and slurries can be dried and concentrated so that can be dissolved in water or mixed with other ingredients. Semi-liquids are used in pellet or extruded form which can be ingested by insects with biting mouthparts and also by insects with sucking mouthparts. Solids are presented as a feed mash with grinding and mixing of all raw materials, after pelleting of various raw materials or by extrusion. Solids can also be encapsulated with complex coacervation technology using proteins and polysaccharides."<ref name=":1" />