In order to achieve global food security for the increasing world population and the consequently... more In order to achieve global food security for the increasing world population and the consequently increasing demand in meat, alternative protein sources are required. Insects possess specific characteristics that are suitable to replace conventional protein sources such as soybean, rapeseed meal and fish meal, enabling insect rearing as a potential solution. Although there is a substantial amount of literature on the protein quality of several insect species, the fit with the livestock protein requirements is studied to a limited extent. This project was aimed to analyze various insect species that are capable of being reared on large scale by examining the compatibility of their amino acid profiles to the requirements of multiple types of animal feed. The current legislation on the mass rearing of insects was also researched. Evaluating housing, amino acid profile, possible health issues and substrates of 18 insect species, 3 of which in different developmental stages, of the orders Blattodea (5), Coleoptera (4), Diptera (3), Lepidoptera (2) and Orthoptera (4). Overall, the amount of crude protein in insect meal and in particular the amount of the most limiting amino acid, lysine, is higher compared to that in soybean meal and lower compared to fish meal. Different substrates influence the amino acid composition of these organisms. As a side research the same analysis was conducted for 7 earthworm species. With the exception of aquaculture, the use of insect proteins in animal feed is not allowed in Europe, whereas in African countries or in China there are no prohibiting regulations. In this paper communication methods used by the major players in the insect industry are included alongside with future prospects of large scale use of insect products as animal feed.
In order to achieve global food security for the increasing world population and the consequently... more In order to achieve global food security for the increasing world population and the consequently increasing demand in meat, alternative protein sources are required. Insects possess specific characteristics that are suitable to replace conventional protein sources such as soybean, rapeseed meal and fish meal, enabling insect rearing as a potential solution. Although there is a substantial amount of literature on the protein quality of several insect species, the fit with the livestock protein requirements is studied to a limited extent. This project was aimed to analyze various insect species that are capable of being reared on large scale by examining the compatibility of their amino acid profiles to the requirements of multiple types of animal feed. The current legislation on the mass rearing of insects was also researched. Evaluating housing, amino acid profile, possible health issues and substrates of 18 insect species, 3 of which in different developmental stages, of the orders Blattodea (5), Coleoptera (4), Diptera (3), Lepidoptera (2) and Orthoptera (4). Overall, the amount of crude protein in insect meal and in particular the amount of the most limiting amino acid, lysine, is higher compared to that in soybean meal and lower compared to fish meal. Different substrates influence the amino acid composition of these organisms. As a side research the same analysis was conducted for 7 earthworm species. With the exception of aquaculture, the use of insect proteins in animal feed is not allowed in Europe, whereas in African countries or in China there are no prohibiting regulations. In this paper communication methods used by the major players in the insect industry are included alongside with future prospects of large scale use of insect products as animal feed.
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