Insects: a protein-rich feed ingredient in pig and poultry diets

Abstract

The use of insects as a sustainable protein-rich feed ingredient inpig and poultry diets is technically feasible. Insects can turn lowgradebiowaste into proteins.• The amino acid profile of yellow mealworm, common housefly,and black soldier fly is close to the profile of soybean meal withmethionine or methionine + cystine, which are generally the mostlimiting essential amino acids for growing pigs and broilers. Argininecan also become a limiting essential amino acid for broilersfed housefly pupae and mealworm.• Additional research is recommended on digestibility of (processed)insects, inclusion levels in poultry and pig diets, functionalproperties, safety when using biowaste as a rearing substrate,extraction of nutrients, shelf life, and use of left-over substratesand residue products of insects.• To compete with conventional protein sources and become aninteresting link in the animal feed chain to fulfil the globally increasingdemand for protein, cost price of insect production andprocessing should be further reduced.