In a box-like building on an out-of-town industrial estate in Burgundy, trays of Alphitobius diaperinus – otherwise known as the lesser mealworm – are being fattened up by robots then cooked, dried and turned into protein-rich powder and oil, reports The Guardian.
This is the headquarters of Ÿnsect, a French company that is building the world’s largest insect farm, to open at the end of the year in preparation for what the French company believes will be a large increase in demand for a healthy alternative to meat.
Today, most of the oil and protein powder it produces outside the town of Dole in the Jura is used in pet and fish food. However, since the European food agency (EFSA) gave its provisional approval for mealworm-based protein for human consumption earlier this year, some is being turned into “insect burgers” or used in cereal bars, protein shakes, pasta, granola and other nutrient-rich foods.
“It can be made to look like minced beef and even turned into sausages,” says Antoine Hubert, the co-founder of Ÿnsect. “It’s ethically good, it’s good for the planet and it also tastes good.” Ÿnsect – the dots over the Ÿ are meant to represent insect antennae – says its new 480,000 sq ft, 120ft-tall farm outside Amiens in northern France will begin production early next year and will turn out more than 200,000 tonnes of insect-based ingredients a year.
The start-up company, founded in 2011, is expecting to have 1,000 staff and a £450m turnover by 2025. It is looking for partners in the UK with the aim of building an insect farm across the Channel.