Concerns about closed loop food systems are preventing insects becoming an important component in the growth of a circular economy in the European Union, according to experts from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
In an editorial, Cecilia Lalander and Bjorn Vinnerås argued that insect proteins can only be truly sustainable if they are fed on waste products.
However, they noted that fears following the BSE crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s have meant that the use of waste as feed is currently restricted, with EU food safety regulations meaning that currently, 70% of food waste in Europe cannot be used as a substrate for insects.
Yet the system that caused mad cow disease was “the most closed loop system possible,” the authors said, whereas systems using food waste to feed insects cannot be considered the same kind.
Conflicts within European objectives
Waste Management is a major facet of the European Commission’s plans to move the EU towards a circular economy. Converting food waste to insect protein currently sits on step three of a five step waste hierarchy. However, the authors argued that it should actually be higher, if the insect protein goes on to be used as a feed for livestock.
Currently, EU law stipulates that insects cannot be directly fed most of the waste produced in the continent because they are considered farmed animals, and as such cannot be fed the byproducts of other animals or used as a feed themselves.
This is intended as a means of reducing the risk of spreading diseases through pathogens which are in the waste products, with restrictions around closed loop systems involving animal tissue tightened heavily following the BSE crisis. Subsequently, they said, this has had a negative impact on circularity and food production more generally within the continent.
Body of research grows
Moves have been made to assist the market for insect proteins in recent years, with insect feeds cleared for use in aquaculture, poultry and pig production. However, in these cases it is stipulated that the insects must be fed on a plant-based diet.
The authors noted that insects have been described as the “waste managers of the environment,” and rearing insects or municipal waste rather than food industry side streams can result in a significantly lower environmental impact.
There is also evidence that black soldier fly production can result in reduced risks from wastes, they said. A number of pathogenic microorganisms are deactivated by composting by black soldier fly larvae. The authors note positive results around the foodborne pathogen, Clostridium perfringens in black soldier fly facilities, as well as the ability of the larvae to degrade pharmaceuticals, pesticides and mycotoxins with no bio accumulation in the larvae.
On the other hand, they noted that the eggs of the parasitic worm Ascaris suum can still be found in black soldier fly larvae after feeding. However, this can be countered using a heat treated treatment as a final step in the production process.
Heavy metal bioaccumulation has also been seen in processes involving black soldier fly, they said, although to date not exceeding permissible thresholds in the EU.
Prions hold the key
The risks associated with prions, misfolding proteins which cause diseases such as BSE, are restricting progress in this area – with a growing need to determine what happens to prions as black soldier flies eat waste. However, the researchers noted that the circular for food production system leading to BSE was the tightest loop possible, with cattle being fed ruminant meat and bone meal.
The rearing of insects, by contrast, is on food waste not likely to contain prions, they stressed, while feeding food waste to insects rather than directly to farmed animals lowers the risk of disease transmission.
Funding is needed to carry out research clarifying these issues, in order to try and overcome current obstacles, they concluded.
You can read full article in Journal of Insects as Food and Feed.
