New technology leads to breakthrough in insect feed

Environmental company Ragn-Sells has become the first commercial business in Sweden to succeed in producing fat and protein for animal feed from farmed black soldier fly larvae, a breakthrough in efforts to convert food waste into feed using the versatile insect.

“Animal feed accounts for a significant share of the climate emissions from the global food system. By replacing fishmeal and soy in feed with protein produced by circular methods, we can reduce the environmental impact of what we eat while making better use of valuable food waste,” says Anders Kihl, Chief Strategy Officer and R&D Director at Ragn-Sells Group.

More than half of the climate emissions from fish, poultry, and pork production come from the animals’ feed. At the same time, nearly 60 million tonnes of food go to waste every year in the European Union alone.

At Ragn-Sells’ facility in Orsa, Sweden, food waste is used to farm larvae of the black soldier fly. When mature, the larvae are harvested and processed into oil and protein using new technology. Ragn-Sells is the first company in Sweden to separate fat and protein from fly larvae, allowing feed producers to tailor the nutritional content of their feed.

So far, Ragn-Sells has produced approximately one tonne of protein and 25 kilograms of fat. Roughly, this amount of protein could be used to feed 4,500 chickens, replacing up to 300 kilograms of fishmeal or 600 kilograms of soy. However, there several obstacles to scaling up production remain.

“There is a growing demand for more sustainably produced protein for animal feed. But to fully replace conventional feed with circular alternatives, we need to be able to use all types of food waste to feed the larvae. Today, an outdated view on waste holds us back,” Anders Kihl says.

Much of the discarded food ends up as mixed waste, which is highly suitable as nourishment for fly larvae. However, current EU regulations prohibit using mixed waste to farm insects intended for feed, as the waste may contain animal residue. Instead, the larvae must be raised on strictly separated plant-based waste, such as by-products from agriculture or food production. These are limited waste streams where insect farming competes with other applications, which hampers large-scale production.

This piece of legislation is not the only barrier to using circular products in animal feed. For example, the EU also prohibits the use of phosphorus recovered from household waste or sewage in feed, even though this product is generally purer than the equivalent from mined phosphate.

“Prohibiting the use of certain recycled raw materials in feed production slows progress towards a more resilient food system. To unlock the potential of mixed waste and sewage as a source of sustainable agricultural inputs, we need modernised regulations that focus on the quality of products, not their origin,” Anders Kihl explains.

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. The goal is to evaluate the products together with farmers and the market during 2025 and 2026.

Ragn-Sells’ investment in insect-based feed is part of the project The Feed of the Future for Fish, Pigs, Poultry and Laying hens, a collaboration with 25 partners within research and food production. The project is run by Axfoundation and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences together with Axfood, Boden Municipality, Cirkulär, Ecopelag EF, Ecoloop, Fiskhallen Sorunda, Grönsakshallen Sorunda, Hemköp, Kötthallen Sorunda, Lantmännen, Martin & Servera, NovaPro, Plant Protein Production, Ragn-Sells, Restaurant and Hotel College Campus Grythyttan, RISE Processum, Seaqure Labs, Stjärnägg, Svenska Foder, Urban Deli, Varva, Viking Fågel, Älvdalslax. The project is partly financed by Vinnova.

For further comment or interviews, please contact:

Anders Kihl, Chief Strategy Officer and R&D Director at Ragn-Sells Group at +46 70-927 26 84 or anders.kihl@ragnsells.com.
Debby Porter Laffitte, Press Officer at +46 70 927 24 00 or press@ragnsells.com

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.