Animal Feed Industry Research Articles

Exploitation of Biobased Co-Product Streams; Contributing to European Protein Demands Using Ethanol Plant Derived Co-Products

Abstract Europe is short of high-quality protein for animal feed, being only 29% self-sufficient in high-quality protein and relies heavily on imported proteins. But consumer demand is shifting towards more sustainable, home-grown sources of plant-based protein. This presents a significant challenge for the animal feed industry. Establishing a new plant protein crop for Europe would take a decade to create elite, geographically adapted varieties, adopt new agronomic practices, and establish appropriate supply chains. Approximately 9 million tons of European non-GM grains (maize, wheat, barley and rye) are converted annually by fermentation into bioethanol, a renewable fuel. The residue of the grain is currently used as medium-quality protein animal feed (distillers dried grains and solubles (DDGS; approx. 30% crude protein). Mechanically processing to separate the protein from the fibre fraction produces a Super-Pro (>50%crude protein concentration). The process produces commercially viable quantities of high-quality, non-GM grain protein, that can be used as an alternative to imported soybean products, in a time frame significantly ahead of establishing alternative agronomies or developing alternative novel proteins. Processing technology can transform low-quality co-product steams into high-quality alternative animal feed products and merits further investigation as a means of producing sustainable animal feed. Re-engineering grain bioethanol plants into biorefineries allows them to produce a super high protein (>50% crude protein) feed material concurrently with bioethanol, a renewable fuel. Information © The Authors 2024

Maize disease classification using transfer learning and convolutional neural network with weighted loss

Maize stands out as a versatile commodity, finding applications in food and animal feed industries. Notably, half of the total demand for maize is met through its utilization as animal feed. Despite its importance, maize cultivation often grapples with crop failures resulting from delayed disease management or insufficient knowledge about these diseases, impeding timely intervention. The advent of technological advancements, particularly in Machine Learning, presents solutions to address these challenges. This research focuses on employing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to classify maize plant diseases. Two datasets form the foundation of this study. The first dataset encompasses 4144 images distributed across 4 classes, while the second dataset comprises 5155 images distributed among 7 to 8 classes. The second dataset encounters issues related to imbalanced class distribution, where certain classes possess substantially more data than others. To mitigate this imbalance, the weighted cross-entropy loss method is employed. During experimentation, three distinct architectural models—ResNet-18, VGG16, and EfficientNet—are rigorously tested. Additionally, various optimizers are explored, with noteworthy results indicating that both datasets achieve peak accuracy through the use of the SGD (Stochastic Gradient Descent) optimization. For the first dataset, optimal results are obtained with the VGG16 architecture, leveraging a frozen layer in the classification stage and achieving an impressive accuracy of 97.146 %. Shifting the focus to the second dataset, the most favorable outcome is realized by employing the EfficientNet architecture without a frozen layer, coupled with the implementation of weighted loss to address the class imbalance, resulting in an accuracy of 94.798 %.

Protective and Detoxifying Effects of Resveratrol on Zearalenone-Mediated Toxicity: A Review

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium spp. fungi and is widely found in moldy corn, wheat, barley, and other grains. ZEA is distributed to the whole body via blood circulation after metabolic transformation in animals. Through oxidative stress, immunosuppression, apoptosis, autophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction, ZEA leads to hepatitis, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, abortion, and stillbirth in female animals, and decreased sperm motility in male animals. In recent years, due to the influence of climate, storage facilities, and other factors, the problem of ZEA pollution in global food crops has become particularly prominent, resulting in serious problems for the animal husbandry and feed industries, and threatening human health. Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural product with therapeutic activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. RSV can alleviate ZEA-induced toxic effects by targeting signaling pathways such as NF-κB, Nrf2/Keap1, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR via attenuating oxidative damage, inflammatory response, and apoptosis, and regulating cellular autophagy. Therefore, this paper provides a review of the protective effect of RSV against ZEA-induced toxicity and its molecular mechanism, and discusses the safety and potential clinical applications of RSV in the search for natural mycotoxin detoxification agents.

Pickup and Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem with Hybrid Missions and Third-Party Vehicle Rentals: A Case Study of Animal Feed Industry

The vehicle routing problem for small and medium-sized animal feed manufacturers is a complex challenge because each transport route can vary significantly between delivering products to customers and picking up raw materials to return to the factory. Currently, businesses lack well-planned management for utilizing a limited number of trucks. As a result, they often incur additional costs by relying on third-party vehicle rentals. This research aims to reduce transportation costs for small and medium-sized animal feed manufacturers by solving a formulated mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model, using experimental data that accurately reflects the actual problems faced. The MILP model results help reduce transportation costs by up to 18.5% compared to current practices by optimizing route sequences and incorporating the use of third-party vehicle rentals. This also serves as a guideline for reducing transportation costs in other similar industries.

Multi-depot and product vehicle routing problem with precedence constraint and selective backhauling in animal feed manufacturing industry

ABSTRACT Multi-depot vehicle routing with precedence constraints and selective backhauling, along with practical challenges such as outsourcing, demand splitting, and flexible pickup and delivery formats, is a common issue in the animal feed industry. However, few studies address demand splitting and flexible pickup constraints. The industry struggles with inadequate management, leading to difficulties in efficiently utilizing limited vehicles for both raw material pickup and product delivery. This inefficiency results in higher transportation costs, including subcontractor vehicle expenses. This study proposes the Extended Adaptive Grey Wolf Optimizer to minimize total transportation costs by incorporating essential factors such as multi-depots, outsourcing services, optimization of split delivery and pickup operations, precedence constraints, and selective backhauling. The results show a remarkable 97.6% improvement toward optimality, representing a significant enhancement of 38.1% improvement over current practice. The findings emphasize the benefits to the industry of adopting proper route sequencing and utilizing subcontractor vehicles.

A comprehensive physicochemical characterization and proposed portfolios of applications for the fruits and seeds of 11 accessions of Jatropha curcas L.

The seed oil and extraction cake from 11 accessions of Jatropha curcas from Mexico, El Salvador, and India were comprehensively characterized with the objective of selecting parentals based on desirable traits for a hybridization program. Kernels contained up to 65 % oil and up to 30 % protein. The most abundant protein types were glutelins (48 %) and globulins (24 %), with arginine (0.096 mg/g) and leucine (0.070 mg/g) being the major amino acids. Glucose (0.09 g/g) and arabinose (0.03 g/g) were the most abundant carbohydrates. The oil was primarily composed of oleic (41 %) and linoleic (37 %) acids. The physicochemical properties of the oil included an acid value of 0.28–1.15 %, saponification value of 155–208 mg KOH/g, iodine value of 0.97–1.08 g I2/g, and viscosity of 21.9–40.9 cSt at 40 °C. Six accessions were selected as parental candidates based on their potential as feedstock for a diverse portfolio of products. The most common applicability of oils were lubricants, biopolymers, biofertilizer, and liquid biofuels production. One Mexican accession had a phorbol-ester concentration much lower than the toxicity threshold (0.06 mg/g) and a high protein content, making it attractive for the animal feed industry and for protein extraction. The selected accessions are preserved in a local germplasm bank and will be used for continued genetic improvement through hybridization, aiming to preserve the identified traits while increasing fruit productivity.

Sustainable organic waste valorisation: A zero-waste approach

The annual increase in global organic waste generation emphasises the need to develop a sustainable management platform to address environmental concerns. This study aims to explore sustainable treatments for the conversion of organic waste into energy in pursuit of zero-waste. The organic waste generated from the animal feed industry (referred to as WF) was used for the model compound in this study. 8.5 wt% of lipids were extracted from the WF, which contained unidentified impurities. Acid-catalysed transesterification yielded less than 80 wt% biodiesel might be due to the reversible reaction. In contrast, non-catalytic transesterification resulted in a significantly higher biodiesel yield (95.6 wt%), suggesting that this method was more effective at converting impure lipids into biodiesel compared to acid-catalysed transesterification. These results indicate the potential advantages of the non-catalytic approach, particularly when dealing with impure lipid sources. To minimise the generation of waste in the process, the WF residue produced after lipid extraction was converted into combustible gas (syngas) through pyrolysis. CO2 was used as a reactive medium in pyrolysis. In one-stage pyrolysis, the gas yield under CO2 was comparable to that under N2, indicating that CO2 did not react effectively with the volatiles derived from the WF residue. Enhanced CO2 reactivity was achieved via catalytic pyrolysis using a nickel-impregnated catalyst. Consequently, the combustible gas yield under CO2 was much higher than that under N2. This approach might contribute to maximising the efficiency of converting organic waste into renewable energy while simultaneously consuming CO2 during pyrolysis, thereby enhancing the sustainability of this approach.

From β-Carotene to Retinoids: A Review of Microbial Production of Vitamin A.

Vitamin A (retinoids) is crucial for human health, with significant demand across the food, pharmaceutical, and animal feed industries. Currently, the market primarily relies on chemical synthesis and natural extraction methods, which face challenges such as low synthesis efficiency and complex extraction processes. Advances in synthetic biology have enabled vitamin A biosynthesis using microbial cell factories, offering a promising and sustainable solution to meet the increasing market demands. This review introduces the key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of vitamin A from β-carotene, evaluates achievements in vitamin A production using various microbial hosts, and summarizes strategies for optimizing vitamin A biosynthesis. Additionally, we outline the remaining challenges and propose future directions for the biotechnological production of vitamin A.

Cellulase Enzyme Production Using Actinobacillus sp. on Several Alternative Growth Media

Cellulase enzymes are widely used in the food, beverage, animal feed, textile, and paper industries. The high cost of producing enzymes and low enzyme activity provides opportunities for using chemicals, and efforts are needed to produce cellulase enzymes economically through media optimization. This research aims to find alternative media that make it possible to produce cellulase enzymes with high activity. This research created a control media (M0) using pro-analysis chemicals and CMC as a carbon source. Three types of cellulolytic bacterial growth media were also created, consisting of technical chemicals, rice straw as a substrate, and different protein sources. M1: alternative media using urea as a protein source; M2: alternative media using powdered milk as a protein source; and M3: alternative media using chicken liver as a protein source. A total of 1% of cellulolytic bacteria (Actinobacillus sp.) was grown in each media and then incubated at 40°C for 33 hours at a speed of 140 rpm, and the production curve and cellulase enzyme activity were measured at every 3-hour interval. The results showed that the highest cellulase enzyme production was achieved at 24 hours using alternative media with powdered milk (M2) as a protein source. The cellulase enzyme activity produced was 2.9612 µ/ml.

Metabolic engineering of the substrate utilization pathway in Escherichia coli increases L-lysine production

L-lysine is an essential amino acid with broad applications in the animal feed, human food, and pharmaceutical industries. The fermentation production of L-lysine by Escherichia coli has limitations such as poor substrate utilization efficiency and low saccharide conversion rates. We deleted the global regulatory factor gene mlc and introduced heterologous genes, including the maltose phosphotransferase genes (malAP) from Bacillus subtilis, to enhance the use efficiency of disaccharides and trisaccharides. The engineered strain E. coli XC3 demonstrated improved L-lysine production, yield, and productivity, which reached 160.00 g/L, 63.78%, and 4.44 g/(L‧h), respectively. Furthermore, we overexpressed the glutamate dehydrogenase gene (gdhA) and assimilated nitrate reductase genes (BsnasBC) from B. subtilis, along with nitrite reductase genes (EcnirBD) from E. coli, in strain E. coli XC3. This allowed the construction of E. coli XC4 with a nitrate assimilation pathway. The L-lysine production, yield, and productivity of E. coli XC4 were elevated to 188.00 g/L, 69.44%, and 5.22 g/(L‧h), respectively. After optimization of the residual sugar concentration and carbon to nitrogen ratio, the L-lysine production, yield, and productivity were increased to 204.00 g/L, 72.32%, and 5.67 g/(L‧h), respectively, in a 5 L fermenter. These values represented the increases of 40.69%, 20.03%, and 40.69%, respectively, compared with those of the starting strain XC1. By engineering the substrate utilization pathway, we successfully constructed a high-yield L-lysine producing strain, laying a solid foundation for the industrial production of L-lysine.

Effects of Yeast-Enriched Functionalized Canola Meal Supplementation on Apparent Total Tract Macronutrient Digestibility and Fecal Characteristics, Fecal Microbiota, and Immune Function of Healthy Adult Dogs.

Brewer's dried yeast has a high nutritional value and has long been utilized by the animal feed industry as a source of protein, B-complex vitamins, and minerals. Brewer's dried yeast is also rich in bioactive compounds and may thereby be used as a functional ingredient, providing benefits beyond that of its nutrient content. Canola meal is a high-fiber ingredient that also has unique properties, especially when it is wetted and dried using a proprietary drying system that creates a "functionalized" canola meal. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of a yeast-enriched functionalized canola meal (FCM) on apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and the fecal quality, metabolite concentrations, and microbiota populations, and immune function of healthy adult dogs. Twelve adult female beagles [body weight (BW) = 7.6 ± 0.7kg; age = 5.8 ± 1.3] were used in a replicated 4×4 Latin square design with 28-d periods. Each experimental period consisted of a 22-d adaptation phase, 5 days of total and fresh fecal collection, and blood collection on the last day. To start, all dogs were fed a basal diet to maintain BW for 14 d. Following fecal and blood collections at baseline (-1 d) to confirm health status, experimental periods began testing the following dietary treatments using a Latin square design experiment: 1) FCM only (no yeast inclusion), 2) FCM + low yeast dose, 3) FCM + medium yeast dose, and 4) FCM + high yeast dose. All treatments were top-dressed onto the basal diet at a rate estimated to be 1% of daily intake (as-is basis). Statistical analysis was performed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS with the main effect of treatment and the random effect of dog. Significance was declared at P ≤ 0.05, and trends reported if 0.05 < P ≤ 0.10. Supplementation with yeast-enriched FCM had no significant effect on the ATTD of macronutrients or energy or the fecal characteristics, metabolite concentrations, and microbiota populations of dogs. Additionally, no significant differences were observed in circulating immune cell counts or response to Toll-like receptor agonists among treatments. Our results suggest that the yeast-enriched FCM could be included in canine diets without negatively affecting stool quality, fecal metabolite concentrations, or ATTD. Further research is necessary to determine the effective dose of yeast-enriched FCM, potential mechanisms of action, and other potential implications it has on canine health.

Research Note: Curbing Salmonella Enteritidis in broiler chickens with palm-free medium-chain fatty acids

Salmonellosis is still one of the most reported zoonoses worldwide and poultry meat is a major source, as chickens are often persistent carriers of Salmonella. Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) are known for their strong antimicrobial activity. MCFAs used today in the animal feed industry, however, mainly originate from the palm oil industry, which is notorious for its negative impact on the climate. We investigated the effect of a specific blend of palm-free MCFAs (ranging from C6 to C9) on Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) colonization in broiler chickens and in vitro SE characteristics. Fifty Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly divided in 2 treatment groups. Chickens received either un-supplemented feed or feed supplemented with 300 ppm MCFAs from D0 onwards. On D7, all chickens were orally inoculated with 1600 CFU of SE. Cloacal swabs (D11) and samples of liver and caeca (D12) of all animals were collected and SE was enumerated. Percentage of SE-positive caecum samples was significantly (P = 0.044) reduced in birds receiving MCFAs compared to those receiving unsupplemented feed (36% vs. 64%). In vitro work performed with the same SE strain showed that preincubating the Salmonella bacteria with MCFAs at a sub-minimal inhibitory concentration significantly (p < 0.05) reduced bacterial adhesion to and invasion in Caco-2 cells, which may explain the observed reduction in intestinal SE colonization in the in vivo trial. Together, these results show that the tested eco-friendly MCFA blend could be a promising tool in the control of Salmonella in broilers.

Production and characterization of acidophilic xylanase from wood degrading white rot fungus by solid-state fermentation of wheat straw

Xylanases (EC 3.2.1.8) catalyze the breakdown of xylan, which is the second most abundant polysaccharide in plant cell walls. Biological catalysts have gained greater global attention than chemical catalysts in different industrial processes because they are highly selective, easy to control and have a negligible environmental impact. The aim of this study was to investigate the xylanolytic potential of white-rot fungi, optimize their physicochemical conditions and characterize the resulting xylanase. Sixty-eight white-rot fungus (WRF) isolates were screened for their xylanolytic potential and growth conditions for maximal xylanase production using cheap agricultural residue (wheat straw) as the sole carbon source. Five WRF isolates with high xylanase yields (73.63 ± 0.0283–63.6 ± 0.01247 U/ml) were selected by qualitative and quantitative screening methods. The optimum xylanase production occurred at pH 5.0 and 28 °C. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) yielded a high amount of xylanase. The highest xylanase activity (80.9–61.274 U/mL) was recorded in the pH range of 5.0–6.5 and at 50 °C. The metal ions Mg2+, Ca2+ and Mn2+ enhanced the activity of xylanase (127.28–110.06 %), while Cu2+, Fe2+ and K+ inhibited the activity with 43.4–17 % losses. The km and Vmax were 0.32–0.545 mg/mL and 86.95–113.63 μmol/min/mg, respectively. This finding indicates that wheat straw can be used for large-scale xylanase production under SSF conditions. The pH and temperature profiles and stabilities indicate that the xylanase produced in the present study can be applied in food and animal feed industries.

Influence of extruded soybean meal with different fat contents and varying oleic acid content on floating fish feed quality and composition

Soybean meal (SBM) is the most widely used source of high-quality plant protein within the feed industry. Raw soybeans are conventionally processed to reduce antinutritional factors, enhance protein bioavailability and improve the overall quality of the final feed product. New high-oleic (HO) cultivars with enhanced unsaturated fatty acids are being utilized in the production of HO SBM for use in the animal feed industry. However, no studies to date have examined the impact of HO SBM on feed formulation and processing of aquaculture feeds. Therefore, we aimed to determine the quality of feed for juvenile domesticated striped bass (Morone saxatilis) using SBM prepared from HO or normal-oleic (NO) soybeans and extrusion-expeller processing. The following four soybean meals were used in our experimental diets: solvent-extracted defatted normal oleic (SENO), full-fat normal oleic (FFNO), extruded-expelled defatted normal oleic (EENO), or full-fat high oleic (FFHO). These meals replaced half of the fishmeal (FM) normally included in a nutritionally complete marine finfish diet. Physico-chemical feed variables and chemical composition were determined during feed production. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and means were separated using Tukey’s t-test. The specific mechanical energy of the diet was reduced with the addition of full-fat SBMs during the extrusion process. All finished fish diets were of similar high quality with high pellet durability index and protein content (P > 0.05). This suggested that using different types SBM, including high oleic, to replace 50 % of the fish meal in a floating feed for juvenile domesticated striped bass does not adversely affect the feed quality or nutritional content.

Bromelain Immobilized onto Clay-Carboxymethylcellulose Composites for Improving Nutritive Value of Soybean Meal.

Improvement of nutritional value and reduction of antinutritional factors (ANFs) of soybean meal (SBM) for animal feed applications could be achieved by using bromelain immobilized onto bentonite (Bt)-carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) composites. The composite with mass ratio between CMC to calcium ion (Ca2+) at 1:20 provided the highest enzyme activity, immobilization yield higher than 95%, with superior thermal and storage stabilities. Performance of the immobilized bromelain for soybean protein hydrolysis was further studied. The results showed that at 60 °C, the immobilized bromelain exhibited the highest efficiency in enzymatic hydrolysis to release free alpha amino nitrogen (FAN) as a product with high selectivity and to effectively reduce SBM allergenic proteins within 30 min. In conclusion, immobilization of bromelain onto Bt-CMC composites leads to stability enhancement of the enzyme, enabling effective improvement in SBM quality in a short treatment time and showing great potential for application in animal feed industries.

Comparative Study of Condensed and Hydrolysable Tannins during the Early Stages of Zebrafish Development.

In this study, we present data on the effects of condensed tannins (CTs) and hydrolysable tannins (HTs), polyphenols extracted from plants, at different concentrations on zebrafish development to identify the range of concentrations with toxic effects. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to CTs and HTs at two different concentration ranges (5.0-20.0 μgL-1 and 5.0-20.0 mgL-1) for 72 h. The toxicity parameters were observed up to 72 h of treatment. The uptake of CTs and HTs by the zebrafish larvae was assessed via HPLC analysis. A qRT-PCR analysis was performed to evaluate the expressions of genes cd63, zhe1, and klf4, involved in the hatching process of zebrafish. CTs and HTs at 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 μgL-1 were not toxic. On the contrary, at 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 mgL-1, HTs induced a delay in hatching starting from 48 h of treatment, while CTs showed a delay in hatching mainly at 48 h. The analysis of gene expression showed a downregulation in the group exposed to HTs, confirming the hatching data. We believe that this study is important for defining the optimal doses of CTs and HTs to be employed in different application fields such as the chemical industry, the animal feed industry, and medical science.

Identification of Knowledge and Technologies for Postharvest Use of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) and Its By-products: A Scientometric Analysis

Using crop by-products has become a key line of research in the current circular economy and bioeconomy scenario, specifically for extracting bioactive compounds of interest in designing and developing value-added products for food, cosmetics, health, biofuels, and animal feed industries. In Colombia, harvest and postharvest residues and crop surpluses have been underutilized as a potential source of bioactive compounds. Thus, the objective of this research is to analyze research insights and technologies used to take advantage of by-products from broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) cultivation through a methodological design that combines scientific intelligence, surveillance technology, and scientometric analysis methods and tools. We identified the current lines of research in postharvest and processing and the respective technologies in the topics of senescence, packaging and transport, shelf life, quality, drying process, and by-products, as well as research insights and technologies in health, integrated crop management, and genetics. Furthermore, the scarcity of research results on broccoli by-products and their use is highlighted, showing an opportunity to strengthen research on this topic. Finally, the challenges and future work for research on the exploitation of broccoli by-products are established based on the use of their bioactive compounds in value-added products.

Fundamental properties and sustainable applications of the natural zeolite clinoptilolite.

This review explores a set of sustainable applications of clinoptilolite, a natural zeolite abundant around the world in different localities. Thanks to its physico-chemical properties this material is extremely versatile for several applications, ranging from environmental catalysis and CO2 removal to industrial and agricultural wastewater purification, aquaculture, animal feeding, and food industry but also medical applications and energy storage systems. Due to the presence of cations in its framework, it is possible to tune the material's features making it suitable for adsorbing specific compounds. Thus, this review aims to provide insight into developing new technologies based on the use of this material that is sustainable, not harmful for humans and animals, naturally abundant, and above all cost-effective. Furthermore, it is intended to promote the use of natural materials in various areas with a view to sustainability and to reduce as far as possible the use of chemicals or other materials whose synthesis process can have a polluting effect on the environment.

Addressing the Concern of Orange-Yellow Fungus Growth on Palm Kernel Cake: Safeguarding Dairy Cattle Diets for Mycotoxin-Producing Fungi.

Palm kernel cake (PKC), a byproduct of palm oil extraction, serves an important role in Ecuador's animal feed industry. The emergence of yellow-orange fungal growth in PKC on some cattle farms in Ecuador sparked concerns within the cattle industry regarding a potential mycotoxin-producing fungus on this substrate. Due to the limited availability of analytical chemistry techniques in Ecuador for mycotoxin detection, we chose to isolate and identify the fungus to determine its association with mycotoxin-producing genera. Through molecular identification via ITS region sequencing, we identified the yellow-orange fungus as the yeast Candida ethanolica. Furthermore, we isolated two other fungi-the yeast Pichia kudriavzevii, and the fungus Geotrichum candidum. Molecular identification confirmed that all three species are not classified as mycotoxin-producing fungi but in contrast, the literature indicates that all three have demonstrated antifungal activity against Aspergillus and Penicillium species, genera associated with mycotoxin production. This suggests their potential use in biocontrol to counter the colonization of harmful fungi. We discuss preventive measures against the fungal invasion of PKC and emphasize the importance of promptly identifying fungi on this substrate. Rapid recognition of mycotoxin-producing and pathogenic genera holds the promise of mitigating cattle intoxication and the dissemination of mycotoxins throughout the food chain.

Black Soldier Fly (BSF): A Sustainable Solution for Protein, Waste Management, and a Circular Bio-Economy

The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is emerging as a game-changer in the animal feed industry and waste management. This article explores the potential of BSF larvae as a sustainable, high-protein feed source for various animals, including fish, poultry, and pigs. It delves into open and closed BSF production systems, highlighting their advantages and considerations. Furthermore, the article details the diverse products derived from BSF, including larvae, oil, and protein meal, showcasing their applications in animal feed formulations. The concept of a BSF circular economy is introduced, emphasizing its potential for fostering resource conservation, ecological stewardship, and cascading environmental benefits. Finally, the article discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with BSF production and integration into the animal feed sector.