The primary reasons for interest in the production of insects is their efficiency and relatively low ecological footprint. As such, they are used as a food source in various tropical countries, while in Western countries, they are mostly considered for the conversion of organic waste and by-products yielding high-quality feed ingredients for animal production. Insect larvae are efficient consumers of a large range of organic matter, demonstrating the ability to ‘upcycle’ relatively low-grade feedstock into valuable proteins and lipids. As such, this approach is extremely attractive from a sustainability point of view – taking resources that are currently underutilized and upcycling them into valuable animal feed resources. High conversion rates, low emissions of greenhouse gases and small production area requirements are all advantages that give this approach a minimal ecological footprint. Products and markets are diverse; protein, oil, compost and other extracts (e.g. chitin, enzymes, antimicrobial peptides) are of interest for the agri-food, medical and biotechnology markets.
In the last decade the field of insects as food and feed has grown and developed in several sub-disciplines, as indicated in the previous paragraph. This rapidly evolving sector suffers from a lack of standards for research and development, resulting in unnecessary variability of results and an inability to compare data between studies. This significantly impedes technical progress and also negatively impacts the establishment of rational policies and regulations required to assist this nascent technology sector.
The next step needed for this sector to develop further is standardisation of research methodologies.
In June 2022, the 4th edition of ‘Insects to Feed the World’ took place in Quebec City, Canada. As part of this conference a workshop was organised, with sponsorship from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). This workshop brought together various groups of influence from industry, academic and governmental agencies, and sought to establish guidelines to standardise research methodologies. Various topics, including genetics, environmental conditions, insect health, design of pilot plants, insect nutrition and the challenges of standardizing feed experiments, methods for determining the value of frass, relevant factors for using insect meals in feeding studies, and an example of a successful standardisation of research methods in bees, were presented.
Proceeding of this workshop have been collected and are showcased in this special issue of the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed.
Corresponding authors; e-mail: dennis.oonincx@wur.nl; laura.gasco@unito.it; grant.vandenberg@fsaa.ulaval.ca
