Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 45, 43124 Parma, Italy.
Department of Agricultural, Forest, and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy.
Animal. 2023 Jun;17 Suppl 2:100904. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2023.100904. Epub 2023 Jul 4.
The search for new, alternative and sustainable feeding sources, including insects, has become an important challenge on the feed market. In 2017, the European Union (EU) started to allow the use of insect meals as feeds for fish. In addition, in 2021, the EU also authorised the use of insect meal for pig and poultry farming. However, the adoption of insect meal by the European aquaculture sector is still limited, and this is mostly due to the lack of availability of insects and their higher costs than conventional feed ingredients. Thus, the insect-based feed industry is still in its infancy, and its successful development and integration in the food value chain depend on several factors. Among these, the technical feasibility and production of quality products, and acceptance by European consumers and farmers are relevant factors. To address these points, this narrative review describes the state of the art of the potential role of insect-based feeds. The stakeholders' and consumers' perspectives are investigated, along with the effects of insect-based feeds on the production and nutritional values of fish, poultry (meat and eggs), and pork. Indeed, matching the nutritional values of insect products with conventional feeds is one of the future challenges of the insect sector, as their nutritional composition is highly dependent on the rearing substrates, and thus, their use in animal feeding needs to be investigated carefully. Feeding animals with insect-based diets affects their growth performances and the chemical composition of the derived products (fish fillets, meat, and eggs). Whether these effects can be considered positive or negative seems to depend to a great extent on the percentage of insects included in their diets and the chemical composition of the ingredients. The use of insect-based feeds has also shown a potential to improve the nutritional features and values of animal products and even to add new ones. Finally, many of the acceptance studies on the use of insects in feeds have focused mostly on the consumers' perception rather than on industry stakeholders (e.g., farmers). Future research should focus more on the farmers' perceptions on and market analyses of these innovative feeds. Even though it is likely that the upscaling of the insect sector will lead to a decrease in prices and an increase in market availability, it is still critical to understand the potential barriers and drivers for the implementation of insects as feeds from a production point of view.
寻找新的、替代的和可持续的饲料来源，包括昆虫，已成为饲料市场的一个重要挑战。2017 年，欧盟开始允许将昆虫饲料用作鱼类饲料。此外，2021 年，欧盟还批准将昆虫饲料用于猪和家禽养殖。然而，欧洲水产养殖业对昆虫饲料的采用仍然有限，这主要是由于昆虫的供应不足和成本高于传统饲料成分。因此，昆虫饲料行业仍处于起步阶段，其成功发展和纳入食物链取决于几个因素。其中，生产高质量产品的技术可行性和可接受性，以及欧洲消费者和农民的接受程度是相关因素。为了解决这些问题，本综述描述了昆虫饲料的潜在作用的最新技术状态。调查了利益相关者和消费者的观点，以及昆虫饲料对鱼类、家禽（肉和蛋）和猪肉生产和营养价值的影响。事实上，使昆虫产品的营养价值与传统饲料相匹配是昆虫行业未来的挑战之一，因为它们的营养成分高度依赖于饲养基质，因此需要仔细研究它们在动物饲养中的应用。用昆虫饲料喂养动物会影响它们的生长性能和衍生产品（鱼片、肉和蛋）的化学成分。这些影响是积极的还是消极的，似乎在很大程度上取决于它们饮食中昆虫的比例和成分的化学成分。使用昆虫饲料还显示出改善动物产品营养特性和价值的潜力，甚至可以增加新的特性和价值。最后，许多关于在饲料中使用昆虫的接受度研究主要集中在消费者的看法上，而不是在行业利益相关者（如农民）上。未来的研究应更多地关注农民对这些创新饲料的看法和市场分析。尽管昆虫行业的规模化可能会导致价格下降和市场供应增加，但从生产角度理解实施昆虫作为饲料的潜在障碍和驱动力仍然至关重要。
