B次元官网网址

Skip to content

B.C. company turning fly larvae into pet food gets $6M in federal funds

The insects are black soldier flies and the plant is able to recycle 130 tonnes of food waste per day
23963297_web1_20210118120136-6005c7bb8cbe0a86f1e7de31jpeg
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. A British Columbia company that feeds food waste to insects to produce pet food has received $6 million from the federal government for itB次元官网网址檚 new state-of-the-art plant just north of Calgary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

A B.C. company that feeds food waste to insects to produce pet food has received $6 million from the federal government for a new plant just north of Calgary.

Enterra Feed Corp. last year opened a 17,500-square-metre production facility, about the size of three football fields.

ItB次元官网网址檚 been producing insect-based feed ingredients out of the Rocky View plant for the pet food, poultry and wild bird markets in North America and Europe.

The insects are black soldier flies and the plant is able to recycle 130 tonnes of food waste per day and turn it into 10 tonnes of high-protein feed along with 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of organic fertilizer.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really quite disheartening how much of that food doesnB次元官网网址檛 make it to the plate,B次元官网网址 said Enterra president Keith Driver. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really surprising how much of that product is out there and available.B次元官网网址

The fly larvae are fed a mixture of food waste and agricultural byproducts B次元官网网址 primarily fruits and vegetables that come from food processors.

The insects can then be fed to poultry and fish as well as to cats, dogs and reptiles. A trial is underway to see if it will work in the pork sector as well.

B次元官网网址淏lack soldier flies are prolific breeders. They grow very quickly B次元官网网址 one million per cent of their body weight in just three weeks,B次元官网网址 said Driver.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e very docile to manage.B次元官网网址

ALSO READ:

The federal Agriculture Department says more than half B次元官网网址 roughly 35.5 million tonnes B次元官网网址 of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 food supply is lost or wasted annually and $49.5 billion of that waste is avoidable. In addition, eight per cent of all greenhouse gases worldwide are the result of food waste.

B次元官网网址淵ou have broken new ground as the first company in Canada to receive regulatory approval to produce animal feed ingredients using flies,B次元官网网址 said federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

B次元官网网址淪eeing it on such a scale, I think itB次元官网网址檚 interesting. IB次元官网网址檓 very open to all of these innovations that can feed animals but also feed the world.B次元官网网址

Driver said Enterra plans to eventually open another plant in either Ontario or Quebec, but progress has been slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

B次元官网网址淥ur sources of feedstock tend to be in and around metropolitan regions.B次元官网网址

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .

Want to support local journalism? Make a donation





(or

B次元官网网址

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }