Milling News
Insect protein in fish feed welcomed “Single market must now fast-track pork and poultry amendments”
T
he European Commission is to be congratulated for officially approving insect protein for aquaculture feed, however now urgent action is required to allow safe and sustainable insect-based feedstock for the pork and poultry industries, nextProtein says. The French-Tunisian agritech start-up welcomed the recent decision by EU regulators to officially allow insect protein to be fed to farmed fish, but said more must be done to ensure out-dated regulations do not slow progress in such a vital field of sustainable agriculture. With an estimated global population of more than nine billion by 2050 and increasing concerns around food supply and waste, nextProtein aims to address land and resource scarcity through insect protein production. nextProtein have reported producing the equivalent amount of protein from 100sqm as 100ha of soy field. The European Commission officially authorised insect-based processed animal proteins (PAPs) as feed for aquaculture animals on May 24, 2017, through a change to Annex IV of Regulation 999/2001, with the regulation text to come into effect on July 1 this year. Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Syrine Chaalala commented, “We welcome the European Commission’s official ruling on this important reform for the aquaculture industry. With then vast majority of farmed fish relying on fishmeal and the depletion of our marine ecosystems, insect-based proteins offer the aquaculture industry a more sustainable way to ensure fish for human consumption.” She continued, “Our insects are fed on organic waste, namely fruit and vegetables from markets, so allowing insect-based protein supplies like ours we can alleviate the pressure on severely depleted wild fish stocks.” Co-founder CEO Mohamed Gastli explained, “But what must now be a priority is ensuring outdated regulations are amended to ensure safe and sustainable insect proteins can be used in the poultry and pork industries.” He continues, “Insect proteins are one of the most abundant sources of alternative proteins but until now the legal framework covering insect proteins needs has yet to fully catch up to the future of what businesses like ours can offer to modern agriculture.” He summarises, “We now need the European Commission to amend regulations to include the poultry and pork industries and ensure safe and sustainable insect proteins, which are created using significantly less land, water and energy resources with less greenhouse gas emissions.” 40 | August 2017 - Milling and Grain