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AgriProtein
AgriProtein was a British agricultural and biotechnology company that used insects to convert food waste into sustainable products including: an alternative protein for use in livestock and aquaculture feed, a natural oil for use in animal feed, and an organic soil enhancer. The company was founded in 2008 in South Africa.[1] AgriProtein was a subsidiary of the Insect Technology Group[2] but went into administration in February 2021.[3] Products Currently, AgriProtein breeds black soldier fly larvae on food waste from a variety of sources including restaurants and supermarkets. After they pupate, the larvae are processed into MagMeal - a sustainable, high quality protein that can be fed to all monogastric animals such as chickens, pigs, fish[4][5][6] and pets.[7] The company also produces an oil (MagOil) that can be used in aquaculture and pet food. MagOil is an alternative to less-sustainable oils such as palm oil. The company also produces an organic soil conditioning product called MagSoil.[8][9] HistoryAgriProtein was founded in 2008 to provide an ecologically sound replacement for fishmeal, which is increasingly expensive because of the depletion of fish stocks.[6][10] The AgriProtein process is noteworthy in that it diverts organic waste from landfills.[11] After consultation with a researcher at Stellenbosch University, a presentation at Tedx in 2011, and approximately five years of development, the company opened its first commercial factory in 2015[11][10] in Philippi,[12] near Cape Town International Airport. They received $11 million in initial investment funding,[4] including two grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[8] Under a partnership instituted in February 2017 with Christof Industries, an Austrian engineering company, AgriProtein plans to establish standardised industrial-scale factories globally.[8][9][11][13] In 2018, they raised $105 million in funding,[7][8][14] the 18th largest recorded agricultural technology deal[6] and the largest in the insect farming sector at the time,[15] and agreed to buy Millibeter, a Belgian company in Turnhout.[16][17] They were awarded the 2013 United Nations Innovation Prize for Africa,[10] have won the Australian Government's Blue Economy Challenge,[10] were named a Global Cleantech 100 company in both 2017 and 2018,[14] in 2017 were the first Food Chain Global Champion in the BBC Food & Farming Awards,.[10][18][19] They were also included in Time's first annual list of "top 50 Genius Companies" in 2018.[20][21] AgriProtein have licensees worldwide and research centres studying fly genetics, insect breeding, and production of antibiotics for feed from larval proteins.[9] References
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