During the last decade there has been an increasing scientific and commercial interest for the development of alternative, sustainable nutrient sources as feed and food. Among the other alternatives that have been evaluated, insects have attracted lately a lot of attention. Recently, the EU Regulation 2017/893, a major milestone for insect protein exploitation, that permits, regulates and clarifies the use of insect-based protein in fish feed, came into force, beginning from the 1 July 2017. Moreover, the EU door for insect protein for poultry is expected to open in 2020. The use of insects as nutrient source has many advantages. First of all, insects are nutritious, as they have high protein and lipid content and are rich source of amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Moreover, insects are a natural source of food in nature for many animal species, they have high feed conversion ratios, whereas their rearing has low ecological footprint and can be realized in small facilities without the demand for high technology equipment. Finally, for their production agricultural by-products of low quality can be exploited. Tenebrio molitor is one of the insects that is commonly reared in various countries, like China, for use in the poultry industry, since it has high nutritional value. Indicatively, T. molitor larvae have high protein (45-65%) and lipid content (31-34%). Tenebrio molitor, together with Alphitobius diaperinus is listed as one of the seven insect species that are so far allowed to be produced in large scale for inclusion in aquaculture feeds. Alphitobius diaperinus is one of the most common insect pests in commercial poultry farms, whereas it can also infest, feed and reproduce on stored grains and related amylaceous commodities. During the grain cleaning process of cereals and legumes a large quantity of by-products is produced. A part of these agricultural waste quantities is used as feed in animal production, whereas the rest are thrown away. Based on the above, the objective of the proposed research project is to evaluate the use of by-products of the cereal and legume grain cleaning process for the rearing of T. molitor and A. diaperinus. Based on the results of the project, specific diets for T. molitor and A. diaperinus based on the evaluated by-products will be developed for the mass-rearing of these two species. Moreover, the nutritional composition of the larvae of the abovementioned species that will be fed with the evaluated by-products will be estimated. Further on, a pilot mass-rearing facility for the production of T. molitor and A. diaperinus will be designed and constructed in the facilities of the company (FAS). Finally, the economic and social impact of the mass-rearing of T. molitor and A. diaperinus based on the exploitation of agricultural by-products of the grain cleaning process will be assessed.
Co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH – CREATE – INNOVATE (project code: Τ2EDK-1528).