Label Rouge, a French mark of food quality originally established in the 1960s that places stringent quality standards on producers aiming to secure the certification, greenlit insect-derived ingredients in its feed standards for farmed salmon.
Since that time, the entire value chain’s interest in the potential of insect-derived feed has taken off, according to Dongen, Netherlands-headquartered insect ingredients company Protix.
In 1992, Scottish salmon became the first fish, and first non-French product, to be awarded Label Rouge certification. In the three decades since Label Rouge-certified production has grown to represent around 12 percent, or 8,900 metric tons (MT), of Scotland’s salmon exports.
To bear the renowned mark, farmers must adhere to strict specifications that limit the types and amounts of ingredients they can use in their feed across the life cycle of their fish.
Label Rouge updated its specifications earlier this year, confirming salmon that had been raised on diets containing insect-derived ingredients could be sold under the label. Under the update salmon feed using insect-derived ingredients in both fishmeal and oils can be used during the freshwater and juvenile growth stages, as well as in feed doled out to adult fish.
Label Rouge’s approval was largely due to a collaboration between France’s National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO) – the regulatory authority for Label Rouge; Boxmeer, Netherlands-based Landcatch – a Hendrix Genetics’ brand of products that supplies salmon ova, fry, parr, and smolts to customers worldwide; Scottish Quality Salmon, which acts as a management organization for Scotland's salmon producers and companies; and Protix.
According to Protix, the inclusion of insect-derived ingredients could help Scotland’s salmon industry become a leader in animal proteins with a low carbon footprint. The company said the majority of the carbon impact of the salmon-farming sector comes from feed production, which means Label Rouge’s decision should help the Scottish salmon industry achieve a lower carbon footprint thanks to insect-derived feeds lower carbon output – especially at a time when the industry is increasingly putting larger smolts out to sea.
Protix Business Development Manager Michel van Spankeren told SeafoodSource that when the four partners started their collaboration around five years ago, the aim was just to get approval for ingredients derived from the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL).
“This was for several reasons: Insects in general, but particularly black soldier flies, are nature’s clean-up crew, efficiently converting low-grade food waste into protein and other valuable nutrients. The larvae are highly nutritious and have several health and welfare benefits, and the ingredients have a proven low footprint,” he said.
At its facility in the Netherlands, Protix is already producing BSFL ingredients at scale. It has two ingredients that are approved by Label Rouge – ProteinX and LipidX.
ProteinX is a milled and dried insect protein meal that has been shown to increase yield, fillet quality, and the sensory quality of salmon. LipidX is a purified insect fat that’s rich in medium-chain fatty acids and, therefore, a good source of energy for animals.
According to Protix, both ProteinX and LipidX can be seamlessly incorporated into feeds for carnivorous and omnivorous animals, offering particular benefits for juveniles and animals facing challenging environmental conditions.
They are also suitable for offshore, inshore, and land-based aquaculture operations, van Spankeren told SeafoodSource.
“Black soldier fly feed from Protix is already used by several farmers in, among other countries, Norway, Scotland, and Chile, and we’re discussing the inclusion of Protix's products with several more feed manufacturers and farmers,” van Spankeren said. “Any feed manufacturer looking for innovations to increase health, performance/yield, welfare, quality, taste, or lower their footprint could be next to benefit from including BSFL ingredients in their diets.”
Label Rouge aside, the aquaculture industry at large is increasingly picking up on insect ingredients, both in the salmonid and shrimp segments, van Spankeren said.
“Now that research has shown [insect feed’s] compatibility in feed formulation and studies show more and more commercial benefits that make insects economically attractive, we see movement in the industry,” he said. “We would like to collaborate with these feed producers and farmers and build long-term partnerships. We’re looking for strategic partnerships working out a price that satisfies our business partners and allows us to continue to invest in our long-term research and development work, improve our product portfolio, and further increase production volumes.”
In the meantime, Protix is expanding rapidly, he said.
The company is now producing 15,000 MT of live larvae at its facility in the Netherlands and is working with R&D teams to improve efficiency and increase this output.
“We are constantly improving the genetics and the way we feed our larvae, and we’re also improving the climate to increase output. At the same time, we are actively expanding outside of the Netherlands. We are in the process of building a much bigger factory in the U.S. together with Tyson as a minority shareholder, and that's really exciting,” he said. “As a science-driven organization, Protix constantly works collaboratively to foster further research. We strive to be a scientific and thought leader in the industry, and we’ve proved we can provide a lot of measurable commercial benefits to the fish industry. We will continue our journey to make aquaculture more sustainable and bring the food system back into balance with nature – as is our mission.”
