Where the feed of the future is born: "Insects with superpowers”

Have you ever thought about what the animals you eat consume themselves? Today, animal feed accounts for a significant share of the climate emissions from the global food system. At the same time, food manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, and households generate 60 million tonnes of food waste every year – just within the EU.

At Ragn-Sells’ demo facility outside of the town of Orsa, facility manager Audinisa Fadhila and her colleagues are contributing to a more sustainable food system by converting food waste into raw materials for animal feed. To help them, they have Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly.

“The larvae of the black soldier fly are rich in fat and protein, both essential ingredients in animal feed. We raise the larvae on residue from food production, like surplus bread from bakeries, by-products from breweries, or discarded veggies. Once the larvae have matured, we harvest and process them into oil and protein,” says Audinisa.

The sustainable feed of the future
As a materials development engineer, Audinisia explores new ways to recover all the valuable resources hidden in our waste. The effort to develop insect-based feed is part of the project The Feed of the Future for Fish, Pigs, Poultry and Laying hens, a collaboration with over 20 partners within research and food production, among them Axfoundation, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lantmännen and Svenska Foder. The project is partly financed by Vinnova.

Black soldier fly larvae have already been used as an ingredient in feed for pets and fish in other parts of Europe. Now, thanks to new technology, Ragn-Sells is the first company in Sweden to separate fat and protein from the larvae. This allows feed producers to tailor the nutritional content for different animals.

"Conventional animal feed is often made from soy or fishmeal, raw materials that place a heavy burden on ecosystems. Fishmeal, for example, is criticised for contributing to overfishing. And isn't it counterproductive to nearly wipe out one fish species just to feed another? Instead of further depleting our natural resources, we want to make use of the raw materials we already have,” says Audinisa.

Legislative barriers
By early 2025, Audinisa and her team had produced approximately one tonne of protein and 25 kilograms of fat from the millions of black soldier fly larvae farmed at the Orsa facility. This amount of protein could be used to feed roughly 4,500 chickens, replacing up to 300 kilograms of fishmeal or 600 kilograms of soy.

Insect protein has already been proven to work well for fish feed. The next step is to develop these raw materials into complete feeds for poultry and pigs that can be evaluated by farmers. However, to scale up production and compete effectively with conventional feed proteins, several regulatory barriers need to be removed. 

“Black soldier fly larvae are omnivores and thrive on mixed organic waste from sources like restaurants and grocery stores. But today, we are prohibited from feeding that waste to the larvae. There is a gap between waste and food regulations that needs to be bridged. The moment something is labelled as waste, it is nearly impossible to circle it back into the food system,” Audinisa explains.

Under current EU legislation, insects intended for animal feed cannot be reared on mixed organic waste. Since it may contain animal products, regulators fear mixed waste could pose a risk of spreading diseases like BSE (mad cow disease). Instead, the larvae can only be fed strictly separated plant-based waste streams – resources that are often limited and already in demand for other purposes.

This is not the only regulatory hurdle preventing circular products from being used in animal feed. One prominent example is the EU ban on phosphorus recovered from sewage sludge in feed production, despite its often-superior quality compared to phosphorus from mines.

"Circular technology has advanced faster than legislation. With this initiative, we want to demonstrate that mixed organic waste can indeed benefit the food system in a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective way. On top of that, the black soldier fly larvae seem to have a unique ability to purify waste from pathogens and bacteria – they’re truly insects with superpowers,” Audinsia concludes.

Fact box: Animal feed has a significant climate and environmental impact

• Animal feed is a major source of climate emissions in the global food system. Studies estimate that between 50 and 90 per cent of the emissions from poultry, eggs, fish, and pork originate from feed.
• Around 50 per cent of the world’s agricultural land is currently used for livestock and feed production.
• Fishmeal and soy protein are two of the most common protein supplements in conventional feed. Fishmeal has been criticised for contributing to overfishing, while soy is typically grown in large-scale monocultures with negative biodiversity impacts and heavy pesticide use.
• EU regulations only allow plant-based, pre-consumer waste for rearing insects for animal feed. This means that mixed organic waste from households and restaurants, much larger waste streams, cannot be used.
• EU rules also prohibit the use of phosphorus recovered from sewage and household waste in animal feed.