July 5, 2017
FEFAC welcomes EU authorisation of insect meal in fish feed
From July 1, processed proteins derived from insects are authorised in feed for farmed fish in the EU.
FEFAC welcomes the authorisation of this promising alternative source of proteins for animal feeding, in particular for fish farming which requires diet compositions with highly digestible proteins.
In the long term, the inclusion of insect meal could further contribute to the sustainable development of EU aquaculture.
Within the current legal framework, the feeding of insects destined to be used as fish feed needs to comply with the same requirements as any conventionally farmed animal, specifically that they should not be fed with waste or livestock manure.
FEFAC believes that this measure is in line with the present state of scientific knowledge and should facilitate public and market acceptance of insect proteins used as feed.
It also welcomes further research into the safety of potential alternative substrates for insect farming, i.e. materials that are currently not directly useable for feeding fish, poultry or pigs, as also recommended by EFSA in its opinion on the risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed in October 2015. This may create more added value to proteins derived from farmed insects in the context of boosting circular economies.
- FEFAC
