15th Mai 2013: Alternative protein sources – FAO presents new book on „edible insects“
The book cites ATB publications of research program "Quality and safety of food and feed".
ATB has been working on edible insects for some time. The focus of ATB research lies inter alia on food and feed safety, technological processing and storage stability. As part of the FAO International Conference "Forests for food security and nutrition" (13 to 15 May 2013, Rome) ATB presents its research approach.
More than 2 billion people worldwide consume over 2000 edible insect species - and not because of hunger but of pleasure. In addition to high levels of protein and fat edible insects supply us with essential vitamins and minerals such as zinc and iron. They are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and essential amino acids.
Insects are generally omnivorous and can be grown on organic side flows of the food industry. They contribute to the reduction of biomass and to the conversion of high-quality food waste into valuable protein. Their cultivation requires little space and is associated with a significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and a lower water requirement than conventional animal breeding. This is mainly due to their comparatively excellent feed conversion. In contrast to beef insects require ten times less feed to produce 1 kg of biomass. Edible Insects therefore represent a valuable and sustainable alternative source of protein for food and feed according to FAO. "Edible Insects" (http://www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects/en/http://www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects/en/).
At the international conference "Forests for food security and nutrition" (13 to 15 May 2013, Rome), the FAO published her latest book on the subject "Edible Insects - Future prospects for food and feed security", which among other academic papers cites from ATB research:
Rumpold, B.; Schlüter, O.: Potential and challenges of insects as source of innovation for food and feed production. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 17 (1): 1-11, 2013. Online at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2012.11.005
ATB presents the research topic at the international Conference „Forests for food security and nutrition“ (13.-15. Mai 2013 in Rome) with a poster.
