Innovafeed and Cargill extend their partnership to jointly develop and market insect meal to the aquafarmers

Innovafeed and Cargill have reported that they have expanded from three years to ten their global partnership committed to develop and market insect meal to help the aquafarmers and aqua feed customers raise more sustainable seafood with less environmental impact. Under this new contract, Cargill will benefit from high-performance and sustainable ingredients for salmonids.

Cargill and Innovafeed made a commitment to start actions that identify and grow planet-friendly ingredients, find new ways to reuse by-products and develop fish nutrition that promotes and enhances the health of farmed fish.

“The agreement combines Innovafeed’s expertise in formulating precision insect ingredients and Cargill’s global animal nutrition capabilities to scale up the use of insect ingredients in multiple types of animal feed.”

Insect-based feed has become a competitive alternative to other sources of protein at all levels, including nutrition, production, and sustainability.

Also, reducing CO2 emissions in the aquaculture industry is core to the Cargill’s SeaFurther Sustainability Initiative. Leveraging Innovafeed’s high-quality insect meal in aquafeed saves up to 16,000 tons of CO2 for every 10,000 tons of insect protein.

“A contract of this size and scope for insect ingredients in aquafeed is a first in our industry and marks a major milestone in favor of more sustainable and efficient animal feed, thanks to novel ingredients and insects more specifically,” said Clément Ray, Innovafeed’s co-founder and CEO.

A competitive alternative to other sources of protein

Together, Cargill and Innovafeed will maximize the use of resources to create a high-quality feed with much less waste. Co-products of the agriculture industry are used to feed black soldier fly larvae. Once the larvae reach a certain stage, protein and oil are extracted from the larvae, which can be used in Cargill’s feed for aquaculture species, and young animals such as chicks and piglets.

“Innovafeed is transforming the feed industry and broadening the basket of performant and sustainable ingredients available to the aquafeed formulators.”

Insect-based feed has become a competitive alternative to other sources of protein at all levels, including nutrition, production, and sustainability. And have a minimal environmental footprint. Growing insects require no land, fertilizer and pesticides, and uses minimal fresh water and energy for production.

Helene Ziv-Douki, president of Cargill’s aqua nutrition business, said: “We have a shared purpose with Innovafeed: offering innovative, sustainable solutions to meet the nutritional needs of our customers and a growing population.”

Presence in 70 countries

Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, they connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.

They combine 156 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, they say, they “are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture”.

“In the other hand, Innovafeed is a global biotechnology company and a leader in the production of insects for animal and plant nutrition. It develops disruptive technologies that reproduce Nature’s processes on an industrial scale.”

By building a circular and zero waste agri-food chain replicating insect’s natural role, “Innovafeed is reinventing the way of life with higher quality, sustainability and resilience, for everyone”. Innovafeed boasts over 350 collaborators for whom performance and positive impact must go hand in hand to shape the world we will leave to future generations.

In 2016 Aude Guo, Bastien Oggeri, and Clément Ray created Innovafeed to contribute to the construction of tomorrow’s sustainable food system. To do so, they chose to develop a unique and pioneering technology to rear and transform the Hermetia illucens fly for animal and plant nutrition, thus offering alternatives to the fishmeal and vegetable oils used in fish and animal feed.