Traceability is Critical for Developing & Sustaining Black Soldier Fly as Feed Industry

BSF are produced throughout the world. I believe this is now accepted as fact. With diversity of location of BSF production facilities come equal levels of diversity in methods employed to produce the BSF as well as the regulations setting the standards. 

This triangulated platform results in complexities in the system as far as traceability of BSF products (i.e., where are they produced, what were they fed, how were they harvested, processed, packaged, and distributed). More specifically, how do we know that BSF produced in one location and sold in another are meeting the regulations in place at either the origin or distribution point? Can we verify that methods used to produce BSF are actually the methods used? Can we take a company at its word (rhetorical)?

Organizations, such as the EU or AAFCO, take such matters seriously. Any product manufactured and not meeting the regulations within a location where sales are actually taking place is a real-life concern. Such approaches put an industry that we all recognize as young and growing at an extraordinary level at risk of being mortality impacted.

One producer generating product on a resource not approved for the identified use (e.g., poultry or aquaculture feed) could be a death nell for the industry. I implore us all to be cognizant of these regulations when we attempt to sell BSF in our home nations or abroad. 

If you are not certain about these regulations, reach out to the appropriate organization in your region (e.g., IPIFF for EU or NACIA for the USA). They are in place to help producers navigate the regulatory maze that exists. Doing so could be the difference between an industry being recognized as a key contributor to global agriculture or a pariah that is shut down. 

With this being said- I would like to draw your attention to the following publication. The authors lay out a great experiment examining contaminants potentially moving through a BSF system into the feed stream for fish. More studies, such as this one, are needed for sure as they provide guidance on what the BSF industry can do presently, where hurdles exist (which could result in research leading to solutions), and how to best move forward.

Biancarosa, I., V. Sele, I. Belghit, R. Ørnsrud, E.-J. Lock, and H. Amlund. 2019. Replacing fish meal with insect meal in the diet of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) does not impact the amount of contaminants in the feed and it lowers accumulation of arsenic in the fillet. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A 36: 1191-1205.

Insects as Food & Feed in the News.....

Insects as Good as Steak (UK)- Discussion of insects (BSF) as a feed ingredient for pets. I am glad to know the industry is exploring other opportunities. And, I am sure dogs and cats alike will consume insect protein if in the correct formulation. Personally, I will take the steak. :)

New Plant on Mealworms (Switzerland)- Bühler plans to a mealworm plant (2300 square meters)- things are getting interesting!

Author

Jeffery K. Tomberlin, PhD, Personally prefers beef but will gladly let Milo & Bailey eat insect-based food if they like (our canine family members)
Director, EVO Conversion Systems, LLC
Twitter: @FliesFacility