Page 8 - National Poultry Newspaper

Black soldier is a common and worldwide-spread fly that can be found in several parts of the world includ- ing Australia.
Black soldier fly larvae can be used to reduce the amount of waste produced by poultry production sys- tems and turn it into fertiliser to improve soil quality.
Black soldier fly frass looks promising as soil fertiliser, but its microbiological and environmental effects still need to be researched further.
Its importance has in- creased during the past few years, as it appears as an efficient way to reduce the volume of human and animal-generated organic waste, turning animal production into circular economies.
vae has a high-quality protein and fat content, which means black sol- dier fly larvae meal can potentially be used as in- gredient for chicken feed formulation.
However, black soldier fly larvae can reduce the bacteria load along their digestive tract, so they could potentially reduce the bacterial load in the frass, but this has yet to be studied further.
Black soldier fly: towards the circular
economy in animal production
BL ACK soldier is a common and world- wide-spread fly, which can be found in several parts of the world in- cluding Australia.
also produced.
This biomass of lar-
on the substrate used, the stage of harvest and the methods used for larvae processing.
Black soldier fly larvae can reduce the volume of waste up to 79 percent of its original volume and also appears as a good alternative source of high-quality protein and fat, suitable for animal and human consumption when raised on suitable feedstock.
The soybean replace- ment can reduce the de- mand for land for its pro- duction.
After black soldier fly larvae have consumed as much waste as they can, a substrate consist- ent of unconsumed feed, insect faecal waste and parts of their exoskeleton shed during moulting – referred as exuvia – re- mains.
As it was described by Ellen MacArthur, “A cir- cular economy is based on the principles of de- signing out-waste and pollution, keeping prod- ucts and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems”.
It can be used to pro- cess the chicken manure and reduce its volume, or even potentially process death bird carcasses and cracked eggs not suitable for market.
However, there are many uncertainties with regard to the effects that black soldier fly products could have.
However, it has to be considered that some of them do bioconcentrate – such as the heavy metals cadmium and lead– so their content in the sub- strate to use with black soldier fly larvae should be considered.
The mix of all these components is called ‘frass’.
In an article published by Nature in 2016, “a circular economy would turn goods that are at the end of their service life into resources for others, closing loops in industrial ecosystems and minimis- ing waste.”
Also, the transfer of contaminants to the soil by using the frass as fer- tiliser.
Several studies have detected the presence of phytotoxic substances, including phenol in the frass, that when applied to crops will reduce their growth rate.
Frass of black soldier fly has increased in inter- est due to its potential use as a soil enrichment.
In terms of diseases and the risk that black soldier fly larvae poses to animals and humans, the presence of harm- ful pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and others will depend
Even though the use of black soldier flies ap- pears highly beneficial, further investigation is needed to ensure it is safe
From animal produc- tion perspective, a circu-
During waste process- ing by the black soldier fly larvae, biomass is
However, the amount of
for animal and human consumption, and that the use of frass as fertiliser will not be harmful for the environment. Circular economy
lar economy would imply turning the waste prod- ucts generated into re- sources that can be used back in the same feed production system.
This has the environ- mental effect on reduc- ing the demand for other sources of protein, such as fish meal or soybean and its derivates.
When other type of contaminants of the en- vironment are taken into consideration – heavy metals, mycotoxins, pes- ticides, phytotoxic sub- stances, pharmaceuticals and such – as with the pathogen load, the pres- ence of these substances in frass and larvae will be dependant on the sub- strate they are fed with.
Even though the con- cept of circular economy was originated more than 40 years ago by Walter Stahel, it has been gain- ing more attention over the past few years.
Uses of black soldier fly by the poultry industry
Considerations about black soldier fly
There are many poten- tial uses of black soldier fly systems for the Aus- tralian poultry industry.
It is true that black sol- dier fly appears as the perfect tool to turn ani- mal production system into circular economies.
Black soldier fly larvae can pass most of them along their digestive sys- tem without concentrat- ing them in their bodies.
As it can reduce the production of volatile compounds, black soldier fly treatment systems can decrease the amount of obnoxious gases that emanate from chicken production complexes, reducing the disturbance to the surrounding com- munities.
It could be related to the transmission of patho- gens from the substrate or waste used to feed their larvae.
* continued P9
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Page 8 – National Poultry Newspaper, July 2021
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