Interview with Antoine Hubert, IPIFF PresidentMany are wondering when the first Novel Food authorisations concerning edible insects for human consumption will be released. What’s the situation?
Currently (mid December 2019) there are twenty-one applications submitted to the European Commission for authorisation for insects as novel food and five notifications for insects as a traditional food from third countries. Three applications for authorisation are at an advanced stage and are in the final phases of assessment by EFSA, following which the first authorisations could be expected by mid-2020. IPIFF updated its briefing paper in August 2019 which provides more specific information on the Novel food authorisation process.
Something new on the side of insects as feed?
In its updated Vision Paper, IPIFF – the umbrella association of the European insect sector – anticipates that the upcoming year will bring positive news, primarily thanks to the opening of new markets for insect proteins. Discussions on the authorisation of insect proteins in poultry and swine feed already started in 2019 we hope that in 2020 poultry and pig farmers will be able to rely on insect-derived feed.
In its updated Vision Paper, IPIFF – the umbrella association of the European insect sector – anticipates that the upcoming year will bring positive news, primarily thanks to the opening of new markets for insect proteins. Discussions on the authorisation of insect proteins in poultry and swine feed already started in 2019 we hope that in 2020 poultry and pig farmers will be able to rely on insect-derived feed.
Facilitating the access to already authorised former foodstuffs at EU level – i.e. products of vegetal origin and/or containing milk or eggs’ products which are no longer considered suitable for human consumption, due to ‘technical defects’ (e.g. Bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits, pasta and chocolates) but are authorised in animal feed – is also among our priorities: indeed these products are not entirely accessible to insect farmers because of issues with the potential presence of certain residues, such as packaging materials, which are strictly prohibited in animal feed in the EU.
We also hope that former foodstuffs containing meat and fish will then be authorised by 2022.
We also hope that former foodstuffs containing meat and fish will then be authorised by 2022.
The above changes would be consistent with the priorities of the long-awaited ‘European Green Deal’, which was presented by new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen on the 11th of December 2019. This strategic roadmap – which plans to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent and pave the way to formulating a more sustainable food policy – further sets out the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy. The latter aims to foster the development of new innovative food and feed products, which could include insects.
You’re in the perfect position to see the edible insects market landscape (both food and feed). How’s the picture in comparison with the one took last year?
The European insect sector is on the right track – we saw an exponential increase in investment, which is an essential part of the upscaling of our sector.
The European insect sector is on the right track – we saw an exponential increase in investment, which is an essential part of the upscaling of our sector.
Insect proteins are authorised in aquaculture feed since July 2017 and that was an essential milestone in the development of European insect farming. In the wake of this authorisation, we see an ever-closer collaboration between insect producers, research and feed manufacturers in order to provide tailored aquaculture feed in line with market requirements.
Research and academia are also advancing – national and EU funded projects presently work on the key challenges of today’s agriculture, such as the necessity to lower our dependency on imported animal feed materials or the health benefits of edible insects for humans. These projects – which aim at contributing with up-to-date scientific evidence – are vital for the development of the sector. This has also been the key take-home message of a recent International Conference hosted by IPIFF in Brussels, where stakeholders and academic actors from across the insect production value chains highlighted the importance of research in line with the regulatory calendar of the European insect sector.
Does the industry have any other big obstacle to overcome on the way?
The recent years showed that insect farming developed into a mature player – we had learnt a lot from the biology of farmed insects, and we adapted our practices in order to optimise these systems.
The recent years showed that insect farming developed into a mature player – we had learnt a lot from the biology of farmed insects, and we adapted our practices in order to optimise these systems.
Now, insect protein source has to be available, of stable quality and reliable in supply if it intends to become part of the feed production chain in the long term. Indeed, while insect producers have started to deliver on this promise, the sector still has a long way to go. Notably, efforts are needed to continuously invest in knowledge of the ingredient characteristics and application as well as the know-how to further increase production capacity.
On the food side, consumers’ acceptance of insects in Western Societies remains a bottleneck. Yet, the number of people willing to try insect-based products in increasing rapidly. This gradual change in attitude around food and growing demand for high protein food for sport nutrition or dietetic food creates growing opportunities for the insect food sector.
Are edible insect farmers investing enough in automation to lower the prices?
Reducing the costs can be undertaken through different strategies: increasing insect efficiency (better knowledge of insect nutrition to reduce insect feed conversion ratio (FCR), genetic strain improvement to reduce life cycle and improve FCR etc.), reducing operational expenditure and capital expenditure through relevant site location selection (by selecting area of cheaper resources through specific and tailor-made energy and/or feedstock contracts or location in countries where resources and staff are cheaper) or increasing productivity thanks to automation indeed. We can see in the insect sector in Europe and more broadly in the world that each company is undertaking one or several of these leverages to reach competitiveness with other ingredients in their markets – being animal feed, pet food or human food. Europe is leading the way in the automation development, which can be highlighted with the patents filled by several European companies in technologies and process (Hipromine, Protifarm, Protix, Ynsect, etc.). Since the EU green light in fish feed in 2017, important fund raising and large manufacturing projects being under construction or already delivered in Europe show that heavy industrial investments – including automation – are done by the sector. Obviously, research & development needs to be further carried out to imagine how productivity could still be improved in the future; we are still in the early age of the insect industry!
Reducing the costs can be undertaken through different strategies: increasing insect efficiency (better knowledge of insect nutrition to reduce insect feed conversion ratio (FCR), genetic strain improvement to reduce life cycle and improve FCR etc.), reducing operational expenditure and capital expenditure through relevant site location selection (by selecting area of cheaper resources through specific and tailor-made energy and/or feedstock contracts or location in countries where resources and staff are cheaper) or increasing productivity thanks to automation indeed. We can see in the insect sector in Europe and more broadly in the world that each company is undertaking one or several of these leverages to reach competitiveness with other ingredients in their markets – being animal feed, pet food or human food. Europe is leading the way in the automation development, which can be highlighted with the patents filled by several European companies in technologies and process (Hipromine, Protifarm, Protix, Ynsect, etc.). Since the EU green light in fish feed in 2017, important fund raising and large manufacturing projects being under construction or already delivered in Europe show that heavy industrial investments – including automation – are done by the sector. Obviously, research & development needs to be further carried out to imagine how productivity could still be improved in the future; we are still in the early age of the insect industry!
Lorenzo Pezzato
