Dutch firms try to turn fly larvae into useful protein using food waste

DutchNews.nl, Sunday 27 October 2013

The experimental set-up where flies lay

their eggs on the trays. (Jean-Pierre Jans)

An experiment is underway in Amsterdam using fly larvae to turn food waste into useful animal protein, the Parool reported at the weekend.

The project is a joint venture between the city's waste-fired power station group AEB, engineering firm Jagran, animal feed maker Denkavit and waste processor Sita.

The partners have set up a laboratory next to AEB's power plants in the city's western harbour area to experiment with the larvae. They hope by feeding the larvae food waste they can produce ingredients for, say, cat and dog food, the Parool said.

Recycling

The four partners will decide next year whether to go ahead with large-scale production. If successful, the project could also be a good way of stimulating people to separate their household waste, the partners say.

Fly larvae are rich in proteins and can form a useful part of efforts to solve world food shortages, the paper states. While humans may be reluctant to eat dried larvae, they could be eaten by animals.

‘It would be great if Amsterdam waste is turned into fly larvae, then to feed the larvae to Amsterdam chickens and then sell the chickens in Amsterdam,’ Walter Jansen of engineering group Jagran told the paper. ‘It would be the optimal circular economy.’