Back to search

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

ENTOFÔR: From waste to resource

Alternative title: ENTOFÔR: fra avfall til ressurs

Awarded: NOK 8.8 mill.

Insect farming for aquafeed production is increasingly gaining attention because of the ability of insects to process variety of biomass efficiently to proteins and lipids which are major part of fish diet. In the European Union, the use of insect meal and insect oil is permitted in fish feed. However, the European Food Safety Authority has highlighted the lack of data regarding the chemical safety of insects and products thereof. One of the ENTOFOR project objectives was to study the quantity, seasonality and the geographical distribution of the organic streams that can be used for insect production. The results show that only a few areas in Norway (mostly around Oslo and Trondheim) would be able to sustain an insect production but in other areas access to raw material would limit the possibilities. Through this project the first insect cultures for research on insects for food and feed were established in Norway. NIBIO evaluated different waste streams (bread, fruit, pizza or beer waste) as growing substrates for black soldier fly (BSF) and yellow mealworms (YMW) larvae. Larva of BSF and YMW grown on beer waste showed the highest survival and feed conversion ratio compared to larva fed on pizza, bread or fruit waste. The quality of feed for young larvae might affect the ability of older larvae to grow on sub-optimal organic waste. Additionally, the ENTOFOR project focuses on developing different methods for detection, differentiation between different insect species but also for tracing of non-legal waste in the insect production in Norway. In this project, we report a multi-laboratory study (German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR, Germany); Institute of Marine Research (IMR, Norway) and European Union Reference Laboratory for Animal proteins (EURL-AP, Belgium) on the detection of ruminant processed animal protein (PAP) in insect production chain. In addition, in silico tools (liquid chromatography- ion mobility (LC)IMS-HRMS) were used to screen pesticides and mycotoxins in insect production chain (insect trial performed at NIBIO Ullensvang, Norway).

Dette prosjektet har ført til økt forskningsbasert kunnskap om produksjon av insekter til bruk i fôr. Det er sett på utførbarheten av å kunne drive insektproduksjon i Norge ved å se på mulige kilder til substrat for å gro insekter, der flere mulige alternativer har blitt utpekt. Ved å se på vekst hos insekter og overføring av næringsstoffer og uønskede stoffer fra ulike substrat til insekter, har vi gjort det lettere for insektprodusenter å vite hvilke substrater de kan bruke. Hvilke substrater som kan bli brukt til å gro insekter er regulert og analysemetoder vi har utviklet i dette prosjektet vil være nyttige verktøy for å kunne oppdage bruk av substrat som ikke er lov å bruke (som fra ruminanter).

Insects are efficient converters of organic waste into valuable protein for the feed industry. Many scientific studies have proven the suitability of insect meal as a high quality protein source in animal feed. This is especially true for fish and poultry, that both prey on insects in their natural environment. This new waste-based insect industry challenges the traditional view of organic waste, by considering it a resource by reducing waste and retaining and upgrading it to valuable nutrients. However, it also creates barriers for insect producing companies, feed manufacturers and regulatory bodies. These form basis for research issues like: hich organic waste streams exists in Norway and which are economically and practically feasible to use in Norwegian insect industry? Which insect species are suitable as waste converters and which conditions are needed for insect production on different waste streams? If we are feeding waste, will this affect the insect and the safety of the insect products? How are regulatory bodies looking at this new feed resource? How do we secure that marketed insect meal contains only insects and has been fed on suitable organic waste? ENTOFÔR aims to address these issues through it´s consortium of researchers from multiple disciplines (economy, social sciences, entomology, animal nutrition and feed safety) and the industry (organic waste-, insect- and feed industry)by: (1) Suggesting economically viable, legislative and biologically suitable organic waste streams used for insect feed, (2) Building knowledge that may lead to the initiation of a national insect rearing centre, (3) Optimizing insect processing and develop a quality control system for insects and insect products to anticipate legislative developments in the feed industry.

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

No publications found

No publications found

No publications found

Funding scheme:

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram