SuperInsect

Valorisation of food waste streams from local supermarkets as feeding for insects.

In Flanders, it is estimated that supermarkets produce around 48,000 tonnes of edible food waste streams every year. 95% of these are disposed of as waste. Yet they are suitable as feed for insects. After all, they can be grown on a wider range of food waste streams. They thus convert low-value food waste streams into high-quality biomass that can be used to produce food or feed.

In the SuperInsect project, Buurtsuper.be, Renewi and Thomas More hogeschool join forces to set up a new chain collaboration to demonstrate that food waste streams from supermarkets can be used as feed for insects. This chain will consist of (1) supermarkets selectively collecting food waste streams, (2) food recycling companies turning them into feed and (3) insect breeders feeding them to their insects, which can then be used as food or feed. A case study will be used to assess whether this new chain is economically viable for each of the links. Thus, this project seeks to valorise food waste streams towards feed and food.