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FACT SHEET

As always, the most important factor in feeding our pets is giving them a complete and balanced diet, appropriate for their species and life-stage.

Insect-Based Ingredients in Pet Food

INTERESTING FACTS • Farmed insects are typically fed on a variety of diets from

spent grains to palm kernel, fruits, and vegetable crop by-products.

• The initial farms mainly began in the tropics but now span the globe. Today, there are over 100 farms in European countries such as Holland, France, Poland, Belgium, and UK.

• Most insect farms have multiple insect species being farmed on a commercial scale.

DIFFERENT FORMATS OF INSECT-BASED INGREDIENTS The insects are mainly rendered into high protein meal (e.g. 55% protein with 80% digestibility) and lipids (e.g. 95% purity) or made into puree which is then frozen. Whole dried alternatives are available, but these are mainly targeted at the wild bird market.

1 These are specific, authorised, species of insects that are commercially produced, under controlled conditions, for animal feed. 2 Regulation No. 2017/893 authorised the use of insect proteins originating from seven insect species which are not

pathogenic nor have other adverse effects on plant, animal, or human health.

What is unique about insects? Insects are able to eat by-products and food that are surplus to human requirements and efficiently convert them into high quality proteins and fats. This biological re-processing of by-products is the key concept underpinning the use of insect protein in animal feed.

The potential scale of insect protein used for pet food in the UK is estimated as 20 thousand tonnes per year, based on an estimate of 5% of the current market size (Fera, 2019).

When made into complete pet food, insect1 proteins and lipids (fats) can contribute to nutritious and palatable products that can also be environmentally sustainable (Fera and Minerva, 2019). While there is a wide range of pet food products to choose from, insect-based products offer a great alternative to owners who prefer to feed their pets a diet that is sourced from ingredients other than traditional livestock species. COMMON TYPES OF INSECTS USED IN PRODUCTION OF FEED There are currently 7 species of insects that are authorised in the EU for use in pet food2. The top three most developed species of farmed insects for use in pet food are:

• House crickets (Acheta domesticus)

• Yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor)

• Black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens)

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FACT SHEET

Insect-Based Ingredients in Pet FoodNUTRITIONAL PROFILE & POTENTIAL ADDED BENEFITS Insects such as BSF are rich in protein and have a clear potential in animal nutrition. The well-balanced amino acid profiles of certain insect ingredients are shown to be comparable to meat- and fishmeal (Spranghers et al., 2017). Due to their novel protein structure there is a lot of interest for use of insects in diets that are intended for pets diagnosed with food intolerance or allergies3.

Additionally, insects can have high fats/oils, mineral and vitamin levels, depending on what they are fed on.

Published by PFMA, January 2021.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS Although more research is required, preliminary reports suggest that insect production at large scale could reduce environmental impacts (less greenhouse gas emission, water, and land usage) compared to conventional livestock production (Fera and Minerva, 2019).

Insects are also efficient feed converters, depending on their species and the diet consumed. Mealworm and house crickets have been reported to convert some feed sources into body mass with similar efficiency to poultry (Oonincx et al, 2015).

CONSUMER ATTITUDE AND ACCEPTANCE LEVEL Market research work undertaken by PROteINSECT (2016) indicates that a high percentage of consumers demonstrate acceptability of insects as a protein source in animal feed4. They also showed a desire for more information about insects as an alternative sustainable protein source.

Growing media attention and campaigns by farmers, academics, professional bodies (such as BVA) and pet food companies are helping to increase acceptability of insect-based ingredients among pet professionals and owners.

Science supports insect use and although more research is needed there is already strong evidence to the benefits of using insects.

Please check our website for a full list of PFMA Factsheets and Posters.

Regulatory information on this topic can be found via www.gov.uk/guidance/using-animal-by-products-to-make-pet-food

3 For more information on food allergy and intolerance in cats and dogs please visit www.pfma.org.uk/food-allergy-factsheet 4 70% of those surveyed said that it is totally acceptable to feed insect protein to farmed animals.

Given the benefits of insects, will there still be a place for using animal by-products in pet food? In Europe alone, annually, around 18 million tonnes of animal by-products arise from slaughterhouses and human food production plants (EFPRA, 2020).

Recycling of these by-products, where safe, into nutritious pet food and animal feed creates major economic and environmental benefits (Jedrejek et al., 2016).

Image demonstrating the processing of insects to larvae and finally to feed.

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FACT SHEET

Insect-Based Ingredients in Pet Food

REFERENCE LIST BVA (2019) ‘Insect diets for pets: why vets have to be part of the conversation’ at www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/blog-

article/insect-diets-for-pets-why-vets-have-to-be-part-of-the-conversation (accessed on 22 Sep 2020). EFPRA (2020) ‘Animal By-Products – What Is Rendering?’ at efpra.eu/what-is-rendering (accessed on 13 Nov 2020). EUR-Lex (2017). ‘Commission REGULATION (EU) 2017/893 on processed animal protein’ at eur-lex.europa.eu/TodayOJ

(accessed on 13 Nov 2020). Fera Science Ltd (2019). ‘Industrial Insect Applications and Services - Insects as Animal Feed and Waste Reduction Solutions’

at fera.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/our-science/Fera_Insect_Applications_Services_brochure.pdf (accessed on 26 Nov 2020).

Fera Science and Minerva Communications UK Ltd (2019). ‘The Insect Biomass Industry for Animal Feed – the Case for

UK-based and Global Business’ at fera.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/Final_Insect_Biomass_TF_Paper_Mar19.pdf (accessed on 22 Sep 2020).

Fitches, E.C., Dickinson, M., De Marzo, D., Wakefield, M.E., Charlton, A.C. and Hall, H., 2019. Alternative protein production for

animal feed: Musca domestica productivity on poultry litter and nutritional quality of processed larval meals. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 5(2), pp.77-88.

Jedrejek, D., Levi, J., Wallace, J. and Oleszek, W., 2016. Animal by-products for feed: characteristics, European regulatory

framework, and potential impacts on human and animal health and the environment. Oonincx, D.G., Van Broekhoven, S., Van Huis, A. and van Loon, J.J., 2015. Feed conversion, survival and development, and

composition of four insect species on diets composed of food by-products. PloS one, 10(12), p.e0144601. PROteINSECT (2016). ‘Insect Protein – Feed for the Future. Addressing the need for feeds of the future today’ at

proteinsect.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/press/proteinsect-whitepaper-2016.pdf (accessed on 22 Sep 2020). Smetana, S., Schmitt, E. and Mathys, A. (2019). Sustainable use of Hermetia illucens insect biomass for feed and food:

Attributional and consequential life cycle assessment. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 144, pp.285-296. Spranghers, T., Ottoboni, M., Klootwijk, C., Ovyn, A., Deboosere, S., De Meulenaer, B., Michiels, J., Eeckhout, M., De Clercq, P.

and De Smet, S., 2017. Nutritional composition of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) prepupae reared on different organic waste substrates. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 97(8), pp.2594-2600.

Published by PFMA, January 2021.