Review of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) as Animal Feed and Human Food

Abstract

Food futurists accept that sustainability-minded humanity will increasingly incorporate insects as alternative protein. The most studied and easily reared species are not necessarily the most sustainable, acceptable, or delicious. Here, we review the literature on the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, which is capable of efficiently converting a wide variety of organic materials, from food waste to manure, into insect biomass. They can be grown and harvested without dedicated facilities and are not pestiferous. Their larvae are 42% crude protein and 29% fat, although they are higher in saturated fats than most insects. They do not concentrate pesticides or mycotoxins. They are already grown and recommended for use as animal feed, but with regional legal restrictions on how this is done. For commercial use in human foods, larvae could potentially be milled and converted into a textured protein with a strong flavor. Their biggest advantage over other insects is their ability to convert waste into food, generating value and closing nutrient loops as they reduce pollution and costs. This general advantage is also their greatest disadvantage, for the social stigmas and legal prohibitions against eating organisms that eat waste are added to extant taboos facing insect consumption.

Effect of rearing substrate on growth performance, waste reduction efficiency and chemical composition of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae

“…In this respect, BSF has shown great flexibility as it can be used to reduce volume and add value to various wastes . The available literature has highlighted that the BSF life cycle and nutritional composition are noticeably influenced by the rearing substrate, with the crude protein (CP) content of the larvae ranging from about 317 to 630 g kg −1 dry matter (DM) …”

“…8,11,12 The available literature has highlighted that the BSF life cycle and nutritional composition are noticeably influenced by the rearing substrate, 13,14 with the crude protein (CP) content of the larvae ranging from about 317 to 630 g kg −1 dry matter (DM). 7,15,16 In 2014, around 90 million tons of slaughter and vegetable WS were produced in Europe (EUROSTAT (http:// appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=env_ wasgen&lang=en)). Considering the Italian context, 54% of the total production of waste and agro-industrial by-products is generated by the manufacture of vegetable products.…”

Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) strengthen the metabolic function of food waste biodegradation by gut microbiome

“…Moreover, vermicomposting can apparently reduce greenhouse gases that might occur in landfills (Adhikari et al ., ; Schott et al ., ; Nigussie et al ., ), and even process organic leachates (Popa and Green, ). Among the various types of vermicomposting, utilizing the black soldier fly (BSF) larvae ( Hermetia illucens ) as a bioreactor has been commonly adopted to treat a variety of organic materials, including animal manure, FW, distillers’ grains, and municipal slurry (Popa and Green, ; Cickova et al ., ; Wang and Shelomi, ). The harvested larvae biomass is commonly regarded as a value‐added feed for livestock(Cickova et al ., ).…”

Technical Feasibility of Hermetia illucens in Integrated Waste Management, Renovated with Sewage Water, an Overview

“…Hereof, a possible collaboration between the local body and private non-profit organizations may lead to the com-mercial success of BSFL composting, though the assessment of local condition is quite mandatory. Although the concept of "waste is a misplaced resource" has been established among the literate people, but still, a greater fraction of the society has a psychological barrier to endorse the waste-derived products as a substitution to the similar virgin goods [111]. Zhang et al [112] worked on the aspect of implementation in China and concluded that the development of market and technology transfer can make this technique dominant over the other methods.…”