Metapod was supposed to deliver the first feed raw material to Salmon Group after the summer. Now it has been postponed.
In early June, Salmon Group entered into a supply agreement with start-up company Metapod to buy insect feed made from grasshoppers and crickets.
At the time, Metapod CEO Fredrick Darien said that the factory was under construction and the first delivery to Salmon Group would take place over the summer.
Salmon Group represents 44 Norwegian fish farmers and 12 per-cent of all fish feed sold to salmon and trout farms in Norway
SalmonBusiness has previously reported that Metapod is not yet permitted to use grasshoppers as a protein source in salmon feed. This is due to EU regulations, where only certain species of insects are allowed to be farmed for feed. Grasshoppers are not on this list. However, crickets are allowed, which are closely related.
“We are aware this can take some time, and will therefore work with three different species; two crickets that are currently approved and one grasshopper expected to be approved soon,” said Metapod biologist Åsta Dale back in June.
According to the newspaper Sunnmørsposten, Metapod’s first delivery of crickets feed to Salmon Group has been postponed. But Fredrick Darien told the publication that the company is in production and that Salmon Group is looking forward to getting this into the fish’s diet.
But when asked how the construction of the manufacturing facility is doing, Darien replied: “I can’t comment on that”
Metapod’s plan is to produce 10,000 tonnes grasshoppers/cricket feed for the aquaculture industry annually. In the long term, they hope to increase that to 50-60,000 tonnes.
