This year’s International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) Annual Congress concluded with a strong message of optimism and determination for the future of sustainable protein production in Europe.
The high-level event brought together a diverse array of stakeholders, including senior EU policymakers, agri-food chain representatives, academic experts, and business leaders. Their insights underscored the insect farming sector’s growth, challenges, and opportunities in the evolving agricultural and policy landscape.
Throughout the congress, attendees and guest speakers reflected on the significant milestones the insect protein industry has achieved in the past years, as well as the obstacles it is currently facing—particularly in addressing regulatory hurdles, and financial constraints.
"The discussions today emphasized the critical role of supportive EU policies in unlocking the full potential of this innovative sector, aligning with Europe’s sustainability and carbon reduction targets. Support for insect farming means support for Europe's sustainable protein industry," said Adriana Casillas, IPIFF president.
"We are convinced that the European insect sector will play a pivotal role in the realization of the strategic goals of the European institutions, thanks to its sustainability and circularity credentials. On the other hand, we ask EU public authorities to develop EU standards and financial instruments that would incentivize customers’ and consumers’ choices towards more sustainable food and feed ingredients, such as insect-based ones," added the IPIFF representative.
New policy roadmap
A major highlight at the event was the unveiling of the IPIFF Policy Roadmap. The roadmap outlines three pillars for EU policy action over the next five years:
- Increasing competitiveness removing the EU regulatory bottlenecks that currently hinder the competitiveness of the European insect sector to establish a future-proof legislative framework that enables industrial competitiveness, but not at the expense of sustainability. IPIFF pleads for engaging the necessary reforms toward broadening the range of biomasses currently authorized in insects’ diets, thereby maximizing the bio-conversion potential of insects and effectively addressing the issue of food waste at European level. Moreover, European insect producers urge the European Commission services to step up efforts to achieve progress on EU policy reforms that would open viable outlets for the different insect byproducts, notably through the effective upcycling of insect frass.
- Promoting demand supporting the increased use of insect products in various value chains. Such efforts would notably materialize through guaranteeing market access for whole-dried larvae (for use in animal feed) and the recognition of insect production activities under the EU policy frameworks tailored for products adhering to the highest sustainability standards. The roadmap suggests to impose stricter safety controls and checks on insect products (intended for food or for feed) imported from outside the European Union and the establishment of compulsory labeling provisions, allowing European consumers to identify the origin of the produced animal in insect food products.
- Catalyzing financing though the development of EU ambitious policies and financial and other support measures, which would contribute to harnessing the multifunctional benefits and positive externalities of the insect-producing sector.
"This roadmap represents the sector’s collective vision for fostering innovation, driving sustainable production, and empowering consumers to make choices that support progress, but not at the expense of the environment. Innovation and sustainability can go hand in hand, and we believe that our industry reflects this perfectly," said Christophe Derrien, IPIFF secretary-general.
