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Collaborative project: Looking forward – climate-smart approaches utilizing regional side-streams and innovative feed technology on yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as feedstuff for non-ruminants - subproject C (TeMoTech)
Project
Project code: 281C706CNZ
Contract period: 01.07.2023
- 30.06.2026
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: animal feed, protein feed, insects, poultry, husbandry techniques, pigs, animal nutrition, climate protection, animal husbandry
We need to create the prerequisites to convert side-streams and waste material into valuable products by processing and utilizing this biomass efficiently and make it available for downstream procedures (BMEL, 2020)". The capacity of insect larvae to convert side-stream substrates into valuable feedstuffs for livestock in a circular system is tremendous, but so far under-utilized. Life cycle assessments of larvae products (comprising parameters such as CO2 footprint, production costs, nutritional value for livestock, excretion of nitrogenous substances), comparing them to conventional protein sources such as soybeans, are difficult and often lack various aspects of the entire process from rearing larvae on certain substrates, using them as feedstuffs until obtaining the final food product such as meat. In this project we therefore aim at an integrative approach: starting at larvae rearing, we’ll use feed technology for preparation and valorisation of larvae products in order to implement them in non-ruminant nutrition and investigate these processes and mass throughput along the entire nutrient chain. We’ll focus on an innovative feed technology approach, hydrolysing the protein and chitin-rich cuticula of the larvae prior to separating protein and lipid fraction in order to enhance amino acid bioavailability as well as metabolizable energy of the insect product. Furthermore, new aspects of larvae rearing are to be investigated, focussing on substrates that are very low in the so-called human edible factor (=hef), but easily bio-convertible by larvae and thereby aiming to minimize direct food-feed competition. The resulting feedstuffs (i.e. larvae protein meals) are to be examined for their nutritional value, ideally replacing (fully or partially) conventional protein sources such as soybean products in non-ruminants while simultaneously maintaining animal health and performance.
Section overview
Subjects
- Animal nutrition
