
Something fishy about eating insects
Something fishy about eating insectsBy Eric Johnson, 1 December 2017
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/som ... 71.articleA few interesting excerpts:
The approach consists of three main steps, says Bühler process engineer Andreas Baumann. First is slurrifying the insects’ food source: food wastes such as grain residues from spirit distilleries, or okara (the insoluble dregs from soy milk and tofu production) are particularly tasty to Soldier larvae. Fruit and vegetable seeds, pulp and skins are also popular. Second, hatchling larvae are mixed with this feed slurry in stackable boxes arrayed in a warehouse. Conveyors and machines automate the whole process, from monitoring growth to adding food and controlling the climate. Finally, mature larvae are anaesthetised through cooling, then processed to sift excrement and residues from saleable proteins and lipids.No mention of how the larvae are separated from the frass (self harvesting??). I believe this is the first time I've heard of mature larvae being "anaesthetised through cooling"
The "efficiency" aspect mentioned below is interesting too:
bugs’ advantage is their efficiency. Because they are cold-blooded, they convert more of their feed into body mass (and therefore food). They are also more edible: 80% of insect carcasses can be eaten, as opposed to only 40% of beef cattle or 55% of pigs or chickens.