Supply of data requirement to assess the safety of currently non-permitted waste streams to be used for rearing insects for feed

The mass rearing of insect larvae for protein in animal feeds is an emerging technology that will
be vital in replacing the 'protein gap' with a sustainable source. The use of waste streams to rear
insect larvae is a further advantage of this technology, potentially revalorising waste that may
otherwise have been incinerated or moved to landfill, for example.
The FSA commissioned a study to provide chemical and microbiological data from a model insect
rearing system (black soldier fly) using four currently non-permitted rearing substrates. The data
will be used as a basis to assess the potential risk from use of these substrate materials in the
context of rearing insects to produce protein for inclusion in animal feed. The materials selected
for testing were supermarket surplus containing animal by-products (ABPs), food processing
surplus containing ABPs, kitchen waste from hospitality sector containing ABPs and poultry
manure.
Samples of the rearing substrate, the larvae and the frass were subsequently taken for analysis of
chemical and microbiological contaminants (briefly: metals, veterinary medicines, pesticides,
mycotoxins, PAH’s, nitrate/nitrite, PFAS, natural toxins, microbial organisms, viral RNA). Samples
obtained from a UK insect producer using currently permitted rearing substrates were also
included as a control.