Page 14 - National Poultry Newspaper

Australia
explores safety
rules for insect
meal
DESPITE the hype around insect abil- ity to upcycle hu- man food waste into animal feed, actually feeding insects raised on trash is prohibited.
relegates insects to the role of unnecessary ‘middleman’ in the ag- ricultural supply chain.
A group of insect meal researchers in Australia aims to change that.
“Completing the re- search necessary to open up unique sub- strate options would allow insects to take their rightful place in the supply chain, recy- cling previously use- less waste streams and creating a new source of protein for animal producers.
Academics, govern- ment and industry part- ners participating in a newly launched coop- erative research centre will spend the next two years studying how Australia’s existing FeedSafe quality assur- ance program could be applied to insect meal.
“We have to do it now, while the industry is still young, so we can accelerate and scale us- ing waste streams that are not currently dedi- cated to livestock pro- duction.”
The project will in- volve a series of tests designed to evaluate safety considerations for the entire insect meal supply chain, beginning with the substrate on which the insects are raised, in hope of finding criteria that would permit the safe recycling of sev- eral of the world’s most difficult waste streams – food waste, animal effluent and human biosolids.
To determine the safety of using sub- strates such as post- consumer waste or biosolids, researchers will test each substrate for potential contami- nants and then evaluate whether insects raised on that substrate still contain those contami- nants after being pro- cessed into meal.
Stock Feed Manu- facturers’ Council of Australia executive of- ficer Duncan Rowland advised livestock pro- ducers in Australia can feed insect meal to fish and poultry in several jurisdictions, but not to pigs or ruminants.
As an example, household waste streams could contain rat poisons, bleach and cleaning agents, patho- gens or even heavy metals.
Even in species per- mitted to consume in- sect meal, the type of substrate permitted is limited to plant-based materials.
“The feeling around these kinds of sub- strates is they are bad, and they should not be used in our supply chain,” Ms Yarger said.
Insect Protein As- sociation of Australia chair and Goterra waste management startup chief executive officer Olympia Yarger believes restrictions have prevented insect production from realis- ing its true potential.
“We need to deter- mine if that is true or not.
“Insects offer a unique opportunity because they can be reared on a variety of substrates — including waste streams inedible to other species,” Ms Yarger said.
“Even if those con- taminants do transfer from the substrate to the insect meal, there may still be potential uses for these contami- nated insects in bio- plastics or biofuels.
“But limiting com- mercial substrates to plant-based wastes means existing insect operations are compet- ing with livestock pro- ducers for agricultural waste streams such as grain detritus, which
“Our job in this re- search is to qualify the understanding of what ‘substrates’ mean in the supply chain, and then from there it will be Goterra’s mission to determine what we can do with that insect.
Will the resulting meal pose a threat to livestock?
“That’s not based in science.
“We have to stop pre- tending that insects are a one-trick pony, and we have to be far more imaginative in how we solve these problems.
Research project looks to adapt existing feed safety standards in Australia to insect meal.
Easily accessed and safe bank-mounted aerators from Venturi Aeration.
Aeration system: worker safety or reliability issues
SURFACE aerators are often the ‘go to’ machine for aeration of lagoons or basins.
middle of the lagoon they are aerating, requiring op- erators to access them via boats, cranes or haul them in on tethers.
the equipment is likely to break down more often – thus neither performing at peak nor delivering the service life desirable.
ing pump to draw the water from the lagoon, then pumps it at pressure through the Venturi Aera- tor.
running at peak efficiency for the life of the instal- lation.
They come in several forms, with the most com- mon being fast and slow- speed ‘splasher’ and draft tube aerators.
If one of these machines is unreliable in operation, it will be frustrating and dangerous for operators to access, and expensive for the asset owners.
The answer to these frus- trations is the use of bank- mounted equipment.
The Venturi Aerator draws in atmospheric air, which mixes with the wa- ter being pumped under pressure.
Routine maintenance such as oil top-ups and gauge checks is much more probable, lengthen- ing the time between ma- jor services and greatly extending asset life.
The splasher type being better at oxygen transfer and the draft tube being good mixers.
Because of their loca- tion, these machines are not likely to receive regu- lar monitoring or routine maintenance, which means
Mounted high and dry on the bank of the lagoon or basin rather than in it, the Venturi Aerator performs the same water aeration task as the traditional aera- tors.
This adds dissolved oxygen to the water and conditions the water as it does so.
The expected life on a Gorman-Rupp and Ventu- ri Aerator lagoon aeration system is in excess of 25 years.
They have one thing in common though.
It relies on a self-prim-
This type of system de- livers a similar amount of oxygen per kW/h as the slow-speed splasher aera- tors but does it from the easily accessed lagoon bank.
They are situated in the
Operator access surface aerators for repairs by boat.
One operator, two span- ners and 10 minutes is all it takes to adjust clearanc- es, keeping the pump and hence the aeration system
More information on Venturi Aeration units may be obtained from Hy- dro Innovations at info@ hydroinnovations.com.au or hydroinnovations.com. au
Because access to the units is vastly simpler and safer for operators, moni- toring pump oil levels, pump discharge pressure, and even Venturi Aerator air intake levels easily be- comes routine.
Venturi aerators are available in sizes from 50mm up to 150mm, with larger systems catered for by using multiple units.
Adjusting pump clear- ances is easy with the Gorman-Rupp self-prim- ing pumps.
Multiple units can be ‘driven’ by a single pump, reducing capital outlay and increasing efficiency.
Imagine the next 25 years of crane and boat- free maintenance!
Page 14 – National Poultry Newspaper, April 2021
www.poultrynews.com.au