Weda Dammann & Westerkamp has supplied a complete insect feeding system to Polish feed producer HiProMine. The company, from Robakowo near Poznan, breeds insect-based proteins on an industrial scale using the black soldier fly.
The new Weda plant will allow 550t of substrate to be produced and fed there every day, and the technology creates a food chain in which the insect forms a bridge between plant waste and sustainable animal feed.
The use of the soldier fly as a feed insect can thus make an important contribution in the future to feeding the growing world population in a resource-saving way. Compared to other feedstuffs, insects are the only source of protein for which the raw material can be utilised 100 per cent.
Moreover, no waste is produced during the manufacture of animal proteins. During their growth, the larvae feed exclusively on organic waste. The soldier fly Hermetia illucens is also characterised by extremely rapid development, with larvae finishing in about seven days.
Insect-based feeds are already approved in many regions for domestic animals, poultry, pigs and aquaculture. If the technology becomes established worldwide, insects have the potential to become an inexpensive, nutrient-rich and ecological protein source for all animal feed.
