Insect protein is called the superfood of the XXI century. And it is not surprising, because the "new meat" meets the needs of almost any consumer. Is it humane? Yes. Is it eco-friendly? Absolutely. Does it cover the need for protein? More than enough. And it is also hypoallergenic and nutritious. (And, by the way, it's pretty tasty. If you have already tried entoprotein bars, then you know that they are in no way inferior to the classic ones with casein and whey isolate).
Дата
10 Января 2024
DATE
January 10, 2024
The first in the country to start making hypoallergenic feed from black soldier fly
Insect protein is called the superfood of the XXI century. And it is not surprising, because the "new meat" meets the needs of almost any consumer. Is it humane? Yes. Is it eco-friendly? Absolutely. Does it cover the need for protein? More than enough. And it is also hypoallergenic and nutritious. (And, by the way, it's pretty tasty. If you have already tried entoprotein bars, then you know that they are in no way inferior to the classic ones with casein and whey isolate).
Alternative protein has revolutionized not only the human menu, but also the pet food market. In Germany, Holland and the USA, owners regularly buy entoprotein food for their pets. In just a few years, it has managed to establish itself as a high-quality and nutritious product. At the same time, the trend is only gaining momentum: now it accounts for 1% of the global volume of all pet food.
So this segment is still considered innovative. And for our country, it is completely unique. Cosmopet became the first manufacturer in Russia to launch entoprotein dog food. This article is about how the idea itself arose, how the production of protein from insects works, and how we managed to achieve the optimal composition of Cosmodog feed.
An unoccupied niche:
import substitution versus deficit
After the departure of foreign brands, there was a shortage of hypoallergenic feed on the Russian market. We decided to occupy this niche.
In 2022, many foreign brands left the Russian market. This has particularly affected the hypoallergenic feed segment. Because of the sanctions, there were supply disruptions, price increases and, eventually, shortages. At the same time, the demand for hypoallergenic feed has not decreased. It generally tends to grow, because allergies to animal protein in each new generation of dogs and cats (due to their breeding culture) are more common than in the previous one.
Against this background, the local supply of hypoallergenic proteins for pet food turned out to be very limited. With regard to the components, only turkey is massively available. And feed with protein from lamb, rabbit and duck is almost not produced in Russia. Thus, the niche of hypoallergenic feeds with a unique protein source turned out to be free. We decided to take it offering a high-quality product that solves both global and topical local problems.
Insects were chosen as an alternative protein source. There are several reasons for this. The first is that unlike other variants (seaweed, soy, mushrooms, etc.), insects belong to the class of animals, so their protein is an animal one. The second is that entoprotein wins in terms of its hypoallergenic and nutritional value (more on this below). And the third reason is that insect cultivation is completely safe for the environment. This idea is considered especially important by our key employees, who come from a biotech upcycling startup.
“After all, we are not just entrepreneurs, but people from science”, explains Evgeny Lugovoy, executive director of Cosmopet. “In the future, our product will help painlessly reduce the consumption of traditional meat, and right now — maintain the health and improve the quality of life of pets.
Insect pet food is represented on the world market by European companies Jiminy’s, Yora (one of the most famous manufacturers) and others. Hypoallergenic feeds with entoprotein are also produced by such giants as Nestle and Mars. But they all buy ready-made protein. Unlike our foreign colleagues, we decided to improve the protein formulation on our own.
Not just a fly:
What you didn't know about the Black Soldier Fly
This is what the Black Soldier Fly looks like — one of the few insects suitable for human consumption.
There are millions of insect species on the planet, but, of course, not all of them are suitable for eating. So, at the moment, only three species are represented in animal feed: black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), crickets and mealworms. Cosmopet has placed a bet on the first option.
The black soldier fly is a small two-winged fly that lives in tropical and subtropical areas around the world, mainly in South America. Its larvae are used for the disposal of organic waste. The Black Soldier Fly copes with this task perfectly: it eats the substrate almost completely and destroys any pathogenic bacteria. At the same time, the Soldier Fly emits even fewer gases and requires even less water, feed and land than other animals. That is, breeding these insects not only does not harm nature, but also helps get rid of animal and plant waste, and turn the remains into compost.
And most importantly, the “meat” of the Black Soldier Fly in comparison with other insects has additional advantages:
- It is completely safe. The soldier fly kills all pathogens in the food it processes, does not accumulate toxic substances, and does not tolerate infections.
- It is very nutritious. The protein-lipid concentrate from the larva of the Soldier Fly contains 58-71% of protein. (This is more than twice the content of it in beef: 25-30%). Black Soldier Fly also contains a large amount of essential amino acids, calcium, phosphorus and biologically active substances — lauric acid, chitin, melanin. It also contains fatty acids: Omega-3 and Omega-6.
“Having assessed the prospects of a pet food startup, our team eventually split into two companies,” Evgeny says. “The first one focused on the production of larvae (for the B2B market, which includes the production of compound feeds for agricultural and fish farms), and we — on the production of pet food. Therefore, Cosmopet not only buys ready-made protein concentrate, but also actively participates in improving the properties of raw materials.”
From larva to concentrate:
how is production arranged?
The larva of the Black Soldier Fly is a unique source of high-quality protein.
At the moment, there is no single method of producing larvae. The author’s scientific method is pursued everywhere, so the technological production of Cosmopet has no analogs.
First, a small laboratory was built, where we conducted experiments and accumulated an experimental base. Our experts studied what the larva eats, how it grows, under what conditions it reproduces more actively and how best to incubate it. These data helped calculate the profitability of full-fledged production — so we went beyond the microlaboratory.
Today, the production is a full cycle and consists of three stages:
Reproduction of adult flies in an insectarium. This is a room where the right conditions are created for soldier flies — high temperature and humidity. One fly brings up to 500 eggs in a lifetime, only 1% of them remain in the insectarium, and the rest turn into protein.
Growing larvae in vertical farms. Vertical farms are special boxes in which larvae eat and grow. Everything is automated as much as possible: food for the larvae is served automatically, the larvae are set out with a dispenser, and after 12-16 days all this passes through a separator.
Drying of larvae and obtaining protein concentrate. The biomass of the larvae is carefully dried in microwave ovens, the fat is squeezed out — and that's it, the protein-lipid concentrate for feed production is ready
As already mentioned, there is no single template for the arrangement of protein production from Black Soldier Fly. It is a continuous process of experimentation and improvement of results.