As early as 2013, the UN believed that humans must expect to eat larvae as part of their diet in 2050. But first the farmed salmon will have larvae on the menu. All food waste in the area ends up at the Iris waste facility in Bodø. Until now, the waste has been composted into topsoil. But now parts of the waste will instead be used as food for soldier fly larvae. It will again be used as feed in the farming industry. Halving greenhouse gas emissions Iris has teamed up with the entrepreneurial company Ecoprot in Meløy to make the environmentally friendly feed and has received NOK 10 million in support to develop production. Fruit and vegetables are ground into a soup. Dried soldier fly larvae that have been ground into flour are added to this soup. – The direct greenhouse gas emissions we save are calculated to be half of that compared to direct composting. We are also becoming more self-sufficient, says André Svendsen, general manager of Iris Produksjon. He adds that in the long term they avoid importing soy from South America. KAKE: Together, the waste company and the caterpillar producer have received NOK 10 million in support to develop production. It was celebrated with cake, with a little extra on top. Photo: Kåre Riibe Ramskjell / news 10,000 tonnes Ecoprot will produce the larvae. They have imported soldier flies that lay eggs and eventually turn into larvae. – It is a fantastic creature. It has an ability to convert almost any organic material into fat and protein, which are important ingredients in feed. That’s according to Ole Torrissen, professional manager at Ecoprot. Professional responsible at Ecoprot, Ole Torrissen, says the larvae have already been served to the salmon. According to him, he liked it. Photo: Kåre Riibe Ramskjell / news – We will already this year produce salmon feed in this way, but on a large scale there is talk of producing 10,000 tonnes during 2025. To achieve such a production rate, Torrissen says that they need between 30 40 additional employees. In larval production, they are now at around 200 kilos of larvae per day. For now, the EU says no to food waste from meat and fish being used as food for the larvae. Therefore, only the business sector, such as grocery stores, can supply food waste for larval food. Svendsen in Iris Produksjon says that in the long term they hope that all food waste, including that from households, can be used for larval feed production. I think more people should do the same. Margareth Øverland has strong faith in the project. – This will provide a circular economy and sustainable livestock and salmon production. Caterpillars require significantly less agricultural land than other livestock and have much lower water consumption. Margareth Øverland at Norway’s University of the Environment and Life Sciences Photo: NMBU She is a professor at Norway’s University of the Environment and Life Sciences and heads Foods of Norway, where they develop local ingredients based on the country’s natural resources. – In addition, they can use and transform a number of organic substances, such as from food waste into a high-quality source of fat and protein. The larvae come out very favorably from a sustainability perspective, Øverland explains. The larvae are cold-blooded, use much less food to grow, and have a larger percentage of edible parts of the body. In addition, they lay many eggs and grow quickly, which means that you can harvest faster. Outdated legislation Øverland believes more people should do the same, and the volumes today are too small. – If this is to make a difference, production must be scaled up. Then you need more actors. To make it happen, you really have to influence the regulations to be able to use other raw materials, while at the same time documenting safe food production. What the insects can eat today is based on a piece of legislation that was established 30 years ago. – But today we have completely new methods to be able to document food safety. We have to think anew, says Øverland.
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Iris and Ecoprot make environmentally friendly salmon feed from larvae – news Nordland
