InSAFE: Securing the Future of the UK's Insect Farming Industry

Start date: September 2023
End date: August 2025
Funder: Innovate UK and BBSRC
Primary investigator: Dr Katie McDermott
Co-investigators: 01055705
External co-investigators: Entocycle Ltd

Project title

The insect bioreactor. It is a large green container made of congregated metal.

Description

The UN predicts that by 2025, the world will have a 60 million tonne deficit of protein to feed animals and humans.

75% of global soy production is used as protein in animal feed, but its production is fuelling both deforestation in critical ecosystems and the climate crisis.

Insect farming provides a low-carbon protein alternative to soy and other feed ingredients by using less land area, less water, and fewer fossil fuel-based materials per kg of protein produced.

The UK insect farming industry is currently constrained by strict legislation on the use of insect protein in animal feed and a lack of protocols and standards for insect-rearing facilities.

The InSAFE project will help us accelerate our efforts to address some of these barriers facing the industry, in particular those related to food safety.

The research will analyse the bacterial microbiome, pathogen loads, presence of AMR genes, and heavy metal content of permissive and non-permissive feedstocks before and after insect bioconversion, alongside analysis of the BSF larvae and by-products such as frass.

Samples will be collected from a new, state-of-the-art insect-rearing demonstrator facility, developed and installed by the UK’s leading insect technology company Entocycle, in addition to Entocycle's R&D facility in London for permissive feedstocks, including segregated food waste.

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In the news
https://www.poultrynews.co.uk/news/leeds-university-and-entocycle-reveal-research-program-for-commercialisation-of-uk-insect-farming.html

https://agrospectrumindia.com/2023/12/14/leeds-university-and-entocycle-reveal-research-program-for-commercialisation-of-uk-insect-farming.html

https://www.pigprogress.net/the-industrymarkets/market-trends-analysis-the-industrymarkets-2/wrapping-up-december-whats-new-in-the-world-of-pigs-6/

https://www.feednavigator.com/Article/2023/12/07/UK-research-collaborators-investigate-how-insect-protein-can-decarbonize-livestock-production

https://thefishsite.com/articles/leeds-university-and-entocycle-seek-to-catalyse-commercialisation-of-uk-insect-farming