AgriProtein, an insect protein pioneer and allied industry partner to Minerva’s EU PROteINSECT project, has been named the BBC Food Chain Global Champion for its first international food and farming award, which recognises outstanding work that challenges established methods and practices to secure the future.

As overall demand for food, particularly meat, increases there is an urgent need to increase supply of protein from sustainable sources. To this end, AgriProtein has produced a new source of protein in the form of an animal feed ingredient made from fly larvae reared on food waste. The waste-to-nutrient flagship product, MagMeal™, will help secure the future of food while delivering significant environmental benefits.

MagMeal™ is a protein substitute for fishmeal widely used in aquaculture, agriculture and pet food. With world fish stocks under threat, MagMeal™ offers a natural, sustainable alternative that will never run out as long as humans produce waste.

Minerva led the development of the Pro-Insect platform across Europe, with the aim of driving legislation and regulation change to include the use of protein from insects in animal feed and ultimately for human consumption. Minerva had responsibility for both policy and media communications for the PROteINSECT project.

Food security is a global challenge. One potential source to replace the huge quantities of imported protein crops and alleviate the current protein deficit is fly larvae. As a natural component of the diets of fish, chicken and pigs, fly larvae provide a rich source of highly digestible protein.

AgriProtein co-founder and CEO Jason Drew said: “Insect protein is an idea whose time has come and we are now producing it at an industrial scale. This award is a vote of confidence in the waste-to-nutrient industry.”

For more information on PROteINSECT, visit https://www.minervacomms.net/eu-projects/