scholarly journals Valorisation of Organic Waste By-Products Using Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) as a Bio-Convertor

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8345
Author(s):  
Kieran Magee ◽  
Joe Halstead ◽  
Richard Small ◽  
Iain Young

One third of food produced globally is wasted. Disposal of this waste is costly and is an example of poor resource management in the face of elevated environmental concerns and increasing food demand. Providing this waste as feedstock for black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) has the potential for bio-conversion and valorisation by production of useful feed materials and fertilisers. We raised BSFL under optimal conditions (28 °C and 70% relative humidity) on seven UK pre-consumer food waste-stream materials: fish trimmings, sugar-beet pulp, bakery waste, fruit and vegetable waste, cheese waste, fish feed waste and brewer’s grains and yeast. The nutritional quality of the resulting BSFL meals and frass fertiliser were then analysed. In all cases, the volume of waste was reduced (37–79%) and meals containing high quality protein and lipid sources (44.1 ± 4.57% and 35.4 ± 4.12%, respectively) and frass with an NPK of 4.9-2.6-1.7 were produced. This shows the potential value of BSFL as a bio-convertor for the effective management of food waste.

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Chul-Hwan Kim ◽  
JunHee Ryu ◽  
Jongkeun Lee ◽  
Kwanyoung Ko ◽  
Ji-yeon Lee ◽  
...  

Food waste accounts for a substantial portion of the organic waste generated at an increasing rate worldwide. Organic waste, including food waste, is largely subjected to landfill disposal, incineration, and anaerobic digestion; however, more sustainable methods are needed for treating it. Treatment of organic waste using black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae is an environmentally safe and cost-efficient method that has been attracting increasing attention worldwide. Black soldier fly decomposes various types of organic waste and converts them into high-value biomasses such as oils and proteins. This review introduces the trends in research related to the treatment of organic waste by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) and their bioconversion efficiencies in Asian countries. Perspectives on the growth of BSFL during waste treatment operation and optimal rearing conditions are provided. The trends in studies related to the application of BSFL as biofuel and animal feed are also discussed. Such use of BSFL would be beneficial in Asia, especially in countries where the technology for processing organic waste is not readily available. This review may provide further directions of investigations including culture techniques for industrial scale applications of BSFL in food waste treatment and resource production in Asian countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Swinscoe ◽  
D.M. Oliver ◽  
A.S. Gilburn ◽  
B. Lunestad ◽  
E.-J. Lock ◽  
...  

Sustainable ingredients for animal feed are becoming scarcer. Insects have emerged as a promising protein and lipid ingredient for fish feed, and black soldier fly (BSF; Hermetia illucens) larvae in particular have great potential to efficiently convert organic matter into high value protein and fat. Seaweeds are a sustainable source of organic matter and complex carbohydrates, but can also provide marine long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids for fly larvae, and therefore could offer a commercially attractive alternative to traditional aquafeeds. However, pathogenic bacteria and faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) readily attach to seaweeds, therefore before this novel BSF larvae feed ingredient is advocated, microbiological risk assessments are warranted to ensure animal and public health protection from farm-to-fork. In this study, screening of raw materials and finished products during formulation of experimental insect meal fish feed was undertaken to evaluate the potential for the introduction of selected bacterial pathogens and FIOs via seaweed substrate to BSF larvae, and subsequent survival during multiple manufacturing processing stages. Processed seaweed powder was found to be a microbiologically safe feed substrate for BSF larvae. Low levels of FIOs were associated with larvae at the point of harvest, although larvae meal and extracted lipids were free of FIOs immediately after processing. During handling, distribution and storage the larvae meal and other externally sourced raw feed ingredients for larvae rearing and feed pellet formation became contaminated with FIOs and Listeria spp. FIOs were also present, albeit at very low levels, in the finished feed pellets. Processing treatments provided effective decontamination, and FIO and pathogen concentrations in finished products never exceeded microbiological quality standards for insect processed animal proteins. Microbiological contamination of raw materials and finished products during packaging and distribution, or originating from production environments, were identified as critical control points, requiring assessment to ensure good hygiene practices.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
H. Fischer ◽  
N. Romano

The production of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) is rapidly becoming a new method to convert food waste into a sustainable ingredient in terrestrial and aquatic nutrition while the by-product, called ‘frass’, can be used as a soil amendment. The growth and nutritional quality of BSFL and their frass is greatly influenced by the provided substrates. In this study, fruits, vegetables, starches and in their combination (mixture) were provided to BSFL for two weeks and afterwards their final weight and nutritional composition of the BSFL and frass were measured. The starch treatment produced significantly heavier BSFL compared to those in the fruit treatment. However, BSFL produced from starch had the lowest amino acid levels. The BSFL produced from vegetables had significantly higher crude protein and essential amino acids compared to all substrates, with the exception of histidine. Frass produced from vegetables had significantly higher nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium values compared to all others, with the exception of nitrogen in the starch and mixture treatment. This study showed that the use of vegetables produced BSFL and frass comparable to soybean meal and many organic fertilisers, respectively, and these could be valuable and sustainable resources for the agricultural industry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Klammsteiner ◽  
Andreas Walter ◽  
Tajda Bogataj ◽  
Carina D. Heussler ◽  
Blaž Stres ◽  
...  

Canteens represent an essential food supply hub for educational institutions, companies, and business parks. Many people in these locations rely on a guaranteed service with consistent quality. It is an ongoing challenge to satisfy the demand for sufficient serving numbers, portion sizes, and menu variations to cover food intolerances and different palates of customers. However, overestimating this demand or fluctuating quality of dishes leads to an inevitable loss of unconsumed food due to leftovers. In this study, the food waste fraction of canteen leftovers was identified as an optimal diet for black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae based on 50% higher consumption and 15% higher waste reduction indices compared with control chicken feed diet. Although the digestibility of food waste was nearly twice as high, the conversion efficiency of ingested and digested chicken feed remains unparalleled (17.9 ± 0.6 and 37.5 ± 0.9 in CFD and 7.9 ± 0.9 and 9.6 ± 1.0 in FWD, respectively). The oil separator waste fraction, however, inhibited biomass gain by at least 85% and ultimately led to a larval mortality of up to 96%. In addition to monitoring larval development, we characterized physicochemical properties of pre- and post-process food waste substrates. High-throughput amplicon sequencing identified Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidota as the most abundant phyla, and Morganella, Acinetobacter, and certain Lactobacillales species were identified as indicator species. By using metagenome imputation, we additionally gained insights into the functional spectrum of gut microbial communities. We anticipate that the results will contribute to the development of decentralized waste-management sites that make use of larvae to process food waste as it has become common practice for biogas plants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 100153
Author(s):  
Armel Gougbedji ◽  
Pamphile Agbohessou ◽  
Philippe A. Lalèyè ◽  
Frédéric Francis ◽  
Rudy Caparros Megido

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 332
Author(s):  
Hayden Fischer ◽  
Nicholas Romano ◽  
Amit Kumar Sinha

Nutritionally unbalanced organic waste can be converted into potential resources for animal and plant farming by culturing black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) and prepupae (BSFP). BSFL and BSFP are rich sources of protein and lipids, while the leftover excrement called “frass” can be used as an organic fertilizer. Using readily available resources, BSFL were cultured on spent coffee, donut dough or an equal blend for 35 days. Survival, productivity, daily pupation and biochemical composition of BSFL and BSFP were measured along with the nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium values of the frass. Survival was highest in the blend compared (81%) to spent coffee (45%) or dough (24%); however, BSFL and BSFP were significantly longer and heavier from dough. Stage and food significantly influenced the protein, lipid and glycogen content of the BSFL and BSFP, which tended to be higher in the latter. While fatty acids were often significantly higher in BSFL fed spent coffee, the amino acid composition of BSFL was generally higher in dough. Frass from the blend had significantly highest nitrogen content, while potassium and phosphorus were significantly higher and lower from spent coffee, respectively. Although coffee and donut dough were suboptimal substrates for BSFL, a blend of these produced BSFL and frass that were nutritionally comparable to soybean meal and many organic fertilizers, respectively.


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