Adding Value and Sustainability to the Food Industry: Mealworm Protein Ingredient as Extract and Powder

Adding Value and Sustainability to the Food Industry: Mealworm Protein Ingredient as Extract and PowderThe goal of this SBIR effort is to contribute value and ingredient diversity to the food industry. The insect based food market is currently valued at $105M and is growing to $1.53 billion by 2021. To date only whole insect powders, not fractionated or extracted protein products made from insects, are offered by companies. Crickets have been the primary focus of the market. To become competitive in the larger protein market, the insect based food industry must innovate and diversify. Mealworms have potential advantages over crickets. They tend to be more disease resistant, can be produced in smaller spaces at higher density and may be more amenable to mechanized automated farming. Additionally, developing and evaluating protein extracts made from mealworms and crickets will aid food companies in their goal to add higher levels of insect protein to products without adding fat calories or negatively affecting product quality.As the human population grows, it is ever more important to sustain rather than increase levels of consumption from earth and it's ecosphere. Current sources of protein are unsustainable. Already 70% of agricultural land, 30% of the land on earth, is used for livestock. Diversification of our food supply is critical for food security. The good news is farming insects, ie. mealworms (Yellow Mealworm, Tenebrio molitor), holds promise as a sustainable solution. They utilize less energy, feed, land and water than other livestock, contributing less to climate change and pollution. Indeed, insects are gaining momentum as a food ingredient. Starting 2011-2013, over 30 companies in North America, 50 in Europe, offer food products with insects as a key ingredient. In fact, All Things Bugs LLC has led the development of crickets as a protein source, selling over 15,000 pounds of its Griopro® cricket powder. However, the food industry has a big demand for adding more protein to products without adding calories or changing the texture, flavor and aroma. Our Phase I research has shown fats, oils and other components in whole insect powders limit the amount of protein that can be added without negatively affecting product. Thus, the overall objective of this Phase II is to develop and evaluate mealworm powder and insect protein extracts as viable ingredients for the food industry. With these funds we will develop an insect protein extract and production methodology and evaluate it along side whole mealworm and cricket powders based on: 1) shelf life, 2) safety, 3) nutritional value and 4) performance and functionality as ingredients in mainstream staple food products. If successful, this project will be a critical step toward revolutionizing the food industry by adding value to and diversifying an industry based on an entire Class of animals largely ignored to date - Insecta.All Things Bugs LLC (www.crickepowder.com) (founded July 19, 2011) with its President, Founder and Owner Dr. Aaron T. Dossey, has emerged as a pioneer and world leader in this new field and industry. Recently, major news sources have covered insect as a novel source of food, often mentioning his company. Examples include: Huffington Post, Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company, The New Yorker, Fox News and others. Further, Dr. Dossey published the first comprehensive foundational reference text book, "Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients" covering all aspects of insects as food. He attended the UN FAO Expert Consultation in 2012 in Rome, Italy on the potential contribution of insects to food security. Using its patent pending technology for production of insect based food ingredients (such as Griopro® cricket powder), his company has sold product to numerous food companies, and has received over $3 million in research grant funding from the USDA, DARPA and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.