10th Meeting of the IG Insects @ Bühler - "Helventomill"

The Meeting will be split into two parts

• Part 1: Visiting of the rearing unit – Limited participation - Start at 13:45
• Part 2: Scientific colloquium – Presentation of results of project - Start at 14:30

Please note - The meeting will be held in German and translation is not provided!

Presentation of the feasability study "Helventomill"

In Switzerland, insect breeding is not yet carried out on a large scale and is therefore expensive and complex. From 2019 to 2022, the "Insect Technology" department of Bühler AG, together with the fenaco cooperative, has conducted a comprehensive study to investigate the feasibility of an industrial insect breeding and processing facility in Switzerland. The insects in focus for this study are the larvae of the black soldier fly for animal feed and mealworm for human food. A fertilizer is produced from the residues of insect processing. Within the framework of this study, the technical and economic basis for the construction and operation of such a plant was elaborated, a rearing trial plant was realized to validate the calculated mass balances, and finally, feeding trials with piglets and laying hens were carried out.

Prior to the project, Swiss Food Research had organized 2 round table discussion to bring the stakeholders who are active along and across the value chain together. “Insect producer”, “Substrate suppliers” and “Insect users” met to discuss about a central insect production for feed and food. Based on that a consortium was formed that realized the project “Helventomill”.