Israel commits to increase the potential of its insect protein sector
A consortium of 8 companies joined forces to accelerate the country’s role as a black soldier fly (BSF) producer for pet feed solutions.
The initiative, backed by the Israel Innovation Authority, is looking at ways to grow and scale the country’s relatively young insect protein sector.
The Israeli government granted the project with NIS 18 million ($5.25M/ €4.8M), which will allow the participants to focus on tackling the current technological challenges to increase the production of these alternative ingredients.
The consortium is formed by Entoprotech, FreezeM, Ambar, Shachar Group Ltd., NRGene, Neomanna, BugEra, and Rafael Feed Mills. Sasha Babitsky, CEO of Entoprotech, said to GlobalPETS that the project is a major step forward in increasing the sector’s possibilities.
The Israeli biotech company will lead the establishment of the first BSF pilot facility in Israel. Its efforts to develop enhanced BSF diets will result in improved protein quality, he said, making BSF a complete and equal alternative to fish, animal, soybean meals, and other protein sources for the pet food sector.
Palatability and digestibility
Babitsky noted that the high levels of chemicals in insects restrict their inclusion rate in mainstream pet food. The current nutritional and chemical profiles of BSF ingredients are not tailored to the specific needs and requirements of cats and dogs, but the consortium hopes to change this.
The companies involved also aim to improve processing methods allowing pet food producers to take BSF-based product formulation and quality control to “a whole new level.”
Overall, insect feed production is low in Israel, and manufacturers are unable to meet the pet food industry’s growing demand for insect protein. The consortium hopes to remedy this and offer pet food manufacturers a “reliable supply of a high-quality protein” for their products.
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