Insect Bioconversion
Feeding the world within a circular economy. Drawing on our deep scientific knowledge and hands-on experience, Fera collaborates with you to evaluate the compatibility of your organic waste for insect bioconversion, while also exploring opportunities to decrease waste stream expenses and enhance sustainability.
A waste problem with no easy answer
One third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted before it reaches a plate. In the UK alone, the food industry discards 3.6 million tonnes every year. Most of it ends up in landfill and processes that destroy organic value rather than recover it.
Insect bioconversion offers a different approach. By using insects (typically black soldier fly larvae) to process organic side streams, businesses can recover usable materials — protein meal, insect lipids, and frass — while diverting waste away from lower-value disposal routes, and helping to support a circular economy.
Find out how insect bioconversion can work for your business.
Get in touchSustainable waste management solution
Businesses and organisations across the agri-food and waste management sectors are under increased pressure from government and the public to find sustainable solutions to dealing with their organic waste. Insect bioconversion can help these business sustainably manage their diverse waste streams.
Divert waste from landfill and lower-value routes
Organic waste in landfill produces methane — a potent greenhouse gas. There are other sustainable waste management processes such as Composting which is relatively slow to complete, and Anaerobic Digestion which recovers energy and useful products, but can still produce GHG emissions too. Insect bioconversion is an alternative solution to these and sits higher in the food waste hierarchy, recovering usable products first.
Generate protein and lipid outputs
Dried larvae contain substantial levels of protein alongside fats and amino acids. Subject to applicable regulations in your market, these may be suitable for use in animal feed, aquafeed, or pet food applications.
Produce a natural soil fertiliser
Frass — the residue left after larval rearing — is a nutrient-rich organic material with potential as a soil conditioner or fertiliser supplement. With synthetic fertiliser costs remaining volatile following geopolitical disruption to global supply chains, interest in domestically-produced organic alternatives has grown significantly among growers and agronomists.
Support the circular economy
Insects convert organic side streams back into usable inputs, keeping materials in the production cycle rather than sending them to waste.
Advance your sustainability credentials
Insect bioconversion maps directly to UN SDG Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption) and Goal 13 (Climate Action), supporting corporate reporting and supply chain commitments.
How it works
Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) can process a wide range of organic residues — production line side streams, surplus food, agricultural waste — and convert them into how quality ingredients such as protein meal, lipids, and frass. Fera can offer support throughout the full process: feedstock assessment and preparation, larval rearing, separation, extraction, product quality and safety testing, and use of rearing residues as fertiliser.
Global food waste
of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted between farm and fork.
GHG contribution
of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to food loss and waste.
Growth
The European insect protein market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 45% between 2025 and 2033, reaching an estimated $3.72 billion.
Why black soldier flies?
1.
Broad feedstock tolerance
BSF larvae can valorise production waste, surplus food, discarded grains, and agricultural residues — making them adaptable across food industry sectors.
2.
Fast, efficient conversion
Larvae reach processing weight in 14 days. The conversion rate from organic waste to usable biomass is significantly higher than conventional livestock.
3.
Nutrient-dense output
Dried larvae contain up to 50% protein plus fats, amino acids, and vitamins — a complete feed ingredient without supplementation.
4.
Low land and water footprint
Insect rearing requires a fraction of the land and water used in conventional protein production, with no need for arable cultivation.
5.
An evolving regulatory landscape
The UK insect bioconversion sector is working actively with regulators including Defra, the Food Standards Agency, and the Environment Agency to expand the range of permissible feedstocks and approved applications. Fera is a named partner in IBC-Net, the Innovate UK-funded project doing exactly that work. We can help you understand what's currently permitted and where the industry is heading.
