written by: dr. jacquie jacob, university of kentucky
the larvae of black soldier flies are voracious eaters of organic material. they can be used to reduce organic waste into animal feedstuffs. this is an ongoing subject of research. the right feed ingredients need to be investigated and the potential contamination with food pathogens. there are a number of companies involved in this research, trying to commercialize the production of black soldier fly larvae for animal feeds. one of these companies is enviroflight which produces dried black soldier fly larvae as well as dried black soldier fly larvae oil and meal
because of the potential health risks, government legislation will be a roadblock for the use of insect meal as animal feedstuffs. in september 2018 the us food and drug administration (fda) recommended an amendment to the association of american feed control officials (aafco) ingredient definition of dried black soldier fly larvae to include feeding to poultry. this approval is the first step in legalizing the use of black soldier fly larvae as an animal feedstuff.
see the extension article, research summary – black soldier fly prepupae: a compelling alternative to fish meal and fish oil.