Feed giant sees potential in black soldier fly.
In a press release today, BioMar writes that it has completed the testing of insect meal in feeds for aquaculture and believes it shows promise as an alternative protein source.
“This is one among many other novel ingredients like algae oil or single cell proteins that BioMar has been investigating,” it wrote.
The salmon feed provider added that it believes raw materials such as those from the black soldier fly can address some of the needs of the market and are now eager to speed up their adoption through the creation of innovative feed solutions.
BioMar has been investigating insect meal since 2015 in its Research and Development centres from 2017 and has been undertaking tests with customers who have been feeding their fish on diets containing insect meal. “These fish have already made their way to supermarkets in Europe among retailers eager to implement future-oriented food solutions that focus on natural foods,” it wrote.
BioMar’s Technical Director at EMEA Division Michel Autin said: “Innovation of course comes at a cost, but farmers who are the first movers with insect meal will benefit from a strong market position. Insect meal has a future as an alternative protein source in aquaculture feeds if the price of this new raw material can be kept at reasonable limits. We have good test results on insect meal originating from black soldier flies, mealworms and others, which makes it a promising raw material.”
