A new UK project involving Entec Nutrition, the University of Exeter and research partners Campden BRI will look to reduce the carbon footprint of the feed industry by investigating efficient insect production methodologies and the science behind insect nutrition in animal feed.

“We will be developing the methodology to produce insect-derived protein and oil ingredients. This will include separation, drying, milling and analysis of each product’s characteristics including nutrition, shelf-life and functionality,” said Tiia Morsky, ingredients research team leader at Campden BRI.

The global feed industry is energy-intensive, reliant on international imports, at risk of commodity price hikes and associated with deforestation. This project will explore methods for low energy production of insects to lower the cost of production and the environmental impact of the aquaculture and poultry feed industry and significantly support the UK’s goal to reach net-zero carbon target by 2050.

The collaboration between Campden BRI and Entec Nutrition extends beyond the Innovate UK initiative, with a smaller EU-funded project with similar objectives. “The second project will build on our findings by further developing methods that will produce nutritious oil-rich and protein-rich ingredients from insects. The nutritional content of these ingredients will then be assessed for poultry-feed producers and shelf-life, and we’ll also identify any biological or chemical contaminants,” said Morsky.