ANIMAL FEED CONTAINING BLACK SOLDIER FLY LARVAE

Abstract

A nutritional composition is provided that does not contain soy and contains black soldier fly larvae as the principle protein source. In further embodiments, the described nutritional composition further comprises whole and/or split legume(s), whole seed(s), and optionally dried vegetable(s). In another aspect, a method for feeding a poultry animal is provided, and comprises feeding the described poultry feed composition to the poultry animal.

Claims

1. A nutritional composition for animals comprising black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), legume(s), and seed(s).

2. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the composition does not contain soy.

3. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the BSFL comprises at least 15% by weight of the composition, the legume(s) comprise between 2% and 10% by weight of the composition, and the seed(s) comprises between 2% and 10% by weight of the composition.

4. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the BSFL is partially or substantially defatted.

5. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the BSFL is whole or a meal.

6. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the legumes are whole and/or split legumes.

7. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the seeds are sunflower seeds.

8. The nutritional composition of claim 1, further comprising fresh or dried vegetable(s).

9. The nutritional composition of claim 8, wherein the vegetable is spinach and/or carrot.

10. The nutritional composition of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional ingredient selected from barley, flaxseed, canola meal, or algae meal.

11. The nutritional composition of claim 10, wherein, when present, the barley comprises 10% to 17% by weight of the composition, the flaxseed comprises 2% to 10% by weight of the composition, the canola meal comprises 0.5% to 5% by weight of the composition, and the algae meal comprises 0.25% to 2% by weight of the composition.

12. The nutritional composition of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional ingredient selected from whole wheat, corn, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, brewer's yeast, salt, marigold extract, calcium propionate, probiotic, vitamin/mineral mixture, DL methionine, and L lysine.

13. The nutritional composition of claim 12, wherein, when present, the whole wheat comprises 10% to 17% by weight of the composition, the corn comprises 10% to 17% by weight of the composition, the calcium carbonate comprises 2% to 10% by weight of the composition, the dicalcium phosphate comprises 2% to 10% by weight of the composition, the brewer's yeast comprises 0.5% to 5% by weight of the composition, the salt comprises 0.25% to 2% by weight of the composition, the marigold extract comprises 0.25% to 2% by weight of the composition, the calcium propionate comprises 0.25% to 5% by weight of the composition, the probiotic comprises 0.1% to 0.5% by weight of the composition, the vitamin/mineral mixture comprises 0.1% to 0.5% by weight of the composition, the DL methionine comprises up to 0.25% by weight of the composition, and the L lysine comprises up to 0.2% by weight of the composition.

14. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the composition has at least one of the following nutrient requirements: crude proteinminimum of 16% by weight of the composition; crude fatminimum of 3% by weight of the composition; crude fibermaximum of 8% by weight of the composition; calcium3.5% to 4.5% by weight of the composition; phosphorousmaximum of 1% by weight of the composition; salt0.6% to 1.0% by weight of the composition; lysineminimum of 0.7% by weight of the composition; and methionineminimum of 0.35% by weight of the composition.

15. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is in the form of a blend comprising a pellet/crumble component and a coarse component, wherein the BSFL is in the pellet/crumble component, the legume(s) and the seed(s) are in the coarse component, and the vegetable(s), if present, is in either the pellet/crumble component or the coarse component.

16. The nutritional composition of claim 10, wherein, if present, barley and flaxseed are in either the pellet/crumble component or the coarse component, and canola meal and algae meal are in the pellet/crumble component.

17. The nutritional composition of claim 12, wherein, if present, whole wheat, corn, and calcium carbonate are in either the pellet/crumble component or the coarse component, and dicalcium phosphate, brewer's yeast, salt, marigold extract, calcium propionate, probiotic, vitamin/mineral mixture, DL methionine, and L lysine are in the pellet/crumble component.

18. A method for feeding an animal comprising providing the nutritional composition of claim 1 to the animal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the animal is a granivorous avian species.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the animal is a chicken, duck, turkey, goose, guinea fowl, squab, quail, capon, grouse, swan, dove, pheasant, woodcock, snipe, chukar or psittacine bird.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] In one aspect, a nutrient composition is provided, which uses black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) as the primary protein source. In embodiments in which the nutrient composition is for poultry, it differs from traditional poultry diets, as it does not contain soy. In various embodiments, the BSFL consists of dried whole larvae or meal, and optionally, is partially, substantially, or fully defatted. The defatted BSFL provides a higher protein content with lower fat content. In various embodiments, the BSFL, either whole or as meal, is the primary protein source. In one example, the defatting procedure consists of heating the larvae, pressing the fat out manually and then grinding the resulting cake into a meal form.

[0017] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition has no soy and comprises BSFL, whole and/or split legume(s), seed(s) (e.g., whole seed(s)), and optionally, dried vegetable(s). The BSFL is whole or as meal and can be defatted. In one embodiment, the whole and/or split legume is peas. In one embodiment, the whole and/or split legume is split peas. In one embodiment, the seed is sunflower (e.g., whole sunflower seeds). In one embodiment, the whole seed is sunflower seed grey stripe with hull. In one embodiment, the dried vegetable is spinach and/or carrots. In various embodiments, the nutrient composition contains greater than about 15% by weight of BSFL, about 2% to about 10% by weight whole and/or split legume(s), about 2% to about 10% whole seed(s), and 0% to about 5% dried vegetable(s).

[0018] In various embodiments, the nutrient composition further comprises at least one of barley, flaxseed, canola meal, and algae meal. In these various embodiments, when present, the nutrient composition contains about 10% to about 17% by weight barley, about 2% to about 10% by weight flaxseed, about 0.5% to about 5% by weight canola meal, and about 0.25% to about 2% by weight algae meal.

[0019] In further additional embodiments, the nutrient composition further comprises at least one of whole wheat, corn, calcium carbonate (fine), dicalcium phosphate, brewer's yeast, salt, such as sodium chloride, marigold extract, calcium propionate, probiotic, vitamin/mineral mixture, DL methionine, and L lysine. In one embodiment, the probiotic contains any or all of the following organisms: Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Enterococcus spp. In one embodiment, the vitamin/mineral mixture comprises vitamin and mineral sources in appropriate levels to provide a balanced vitamin and mineral content of the finished product to meet or exceed known nutrient requirements of poultry. In these further embodiments, when present, the nutrient composition contains about 10% to about 17% by weight whole wheat, about 10% to about 17% by weight corn, about 2% to about 10% by weight calcium carbonate (fine), about 2% to about 10% by weight dicalcium phosphate, about 0.5% to about 5% brewer's yeast, about 0.25% to about 2% by weight salt, such as sodium chloride, about 0.25% to about 2% by weight marigold extract, about 0.25% to about 5% by weight calcium propionate, about 0.1% to about 0.5% by weight probiotic, about 0.1% to about 0.5% vitamin/mineral mixture, optionally about 0% to about 0.25% by weight DL methionine, and optionally 0% to about 0.2% by weight L lysine.

[0020] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition has no soy and comprises defatted BSFL meal, split peas, sunflower seed grey stripe with hull, and optionally, dried spinach. In another embodiment, the nutrient composition comprises defatted BSFL meal, split peas, sunflower seed grey stripe with hull, barley, flaxseed, canola meal, algae meal, and optionally dried spinach. In another embodiment, the poultry feed comprises defatted BSFL meal, split peas, sunflower seed grey stripe with hull, barley, flaxseed, canola meal, algae meal, whole wheat, corn, calcium carbonate (fine), dicalcium phosphate, brewer's yeast, salt, such as sodium chloride, marigold extract, calcium propionate, probiotic, vitamin/mineral mixture, optionally dried spinach, optionally DL methionine, and optionally L lysine.

[0021] In various embodiments, the nutrient composition contains ingredients that provide optimal pigmentation, such as algae, spinach, corn gluten meal, and/or marigold extract. In various embodiments, the nutrient composition contains ingredients that provide nutrient supplementation to promote optimal egg nutrition, such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and/or carotenoids. The described nutrient composition differs from commercial poultry diets by being formulated without most commodity ingredients.

[0022] In another embodiment, the nutrient composition is described by its nutrient content. In one embodiment, the poultry feed has the following nutrient profile, including the described ranges:

TABLE-US-00001 Nutrient Name Units Minimum Maximum Crude Protein % 16 19 Crude fat % 3 7 Ash % 0 18 Crude Fiber % 0 8 Ca % 3 4.5 P % 0.5 1 Mg % 0.15 K % 0.15 Na % 0.25 0.4 Cl % 0.13 0.45 S % Fe ppm 75 450 Zn ppm 60 175 Mn ppm 60 150 Cu ppm 10 40 I ppm 0.04 Se ppm 0.30 1.00 Vit A Retinol IU/kg 7,500.00 10,000.00 Vit D3 IU/kg 2,200.00 4,500.00 Vit E IU/kg 44 100 Vit K IU/kg 0.5 1.5 xanthophylls ppm 40 Thiamin ppm 3 Biotin ppm 0.2 Riboflavin ppm 5 Niacin ppm 20 Panthethenate ppm 5 Pyridoxine ppm 5 Folate ppm 5 Vit B12 ug/kg 5 Choline ppm 1,500.00 3,000.00 Arg % 0.7 His % 0.2 Ile % 0.65 Leu % 0.85 Lys % 0.7 Met % 0.35 Met + Cys % 0.6 Phe % 0.5 Thr % 0.5 Trp % 0.2 Val % 0.8 Linoleic 18:2n6% 1.1 Linolenic 18:2n3% 0.5

[0023] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition has the following nutritional composition:

[0024] Crude Proteinminimum of 16%;

[0025] Crude Fatminimum of 3.5%;

[0026] Crude Fibermaximum of 3.5% to 4.5%;

[0027] Calcium3.5% to 4.5%;

[0028] Phosphorousmaximum of 1%;

[0029] Salt0.6% to 1.0%;

[0030] Lysineminimum of 0.7%; and

[0031] Methionineminimum of 0.35%.

[0032] In various embodiments, the described nutrient composition is provided in a variety of forms, including but not limited to, pellet form, crumble form, which in one embodiment is a pulverized form of the pellets, resulting in the crumble form, and a blend form comprising the pellet/crumble and a coarse mixture. In one embodiment, the pellet form is an extruded composition. The described nutrient composition can also be fashioned into a block.

[0033] In various embodiments, the BSFL is present in the pellet/crumble, the whole and/or split legume(s) and whole seed(s) are present in the coarse component of the blend, and if present, the dried vegetable(s) is present in the pellet and/or the coarse. In further embodiments, and if present, the barley and flaxseed are present in the pellet/crumble and/or coarse and the canola meal and algae meal are present in the pellet. In still further embodiments, and if present, the whole wheat, corn, and calcium carbonate (fine) are present in the pellet/crumble and/or coarse, and the dicalcium phosphate, brewer's yeast, salt, such as sodium chloride, marigold extract, calcium propionate, probiotic, vitamin/mineral mixture, DL methionine, and L lysine are present in the pellet.

[0034] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition is provided as a blend. In one embodiment, the nutrient composition blend comprises a pellet/crumble composition as described above, in combination with additional ingredients, e.g., coarse mixture. In one embodiment, the nutrient composition blend contains the pellet/crumble composition, barley, whole wheat, calcium carbonate (fine), flaxseed, split peas, and sunflower seed grey stripe with hull. In one embodiment, the nutrient composition blend contains:

TABLE-US-00002 Ingredient Inclusion % pellet >40% Barley 5-15% Whole wheat 0-10% Calcium carbonate fine 0-5% Flaxseed 0-7% Whole and/or split 0-10% legume(s) Whole seed(s) 0-5%

[0035] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition comprises EnviroMeal (black soldier fly meal defatted), whole wheat, ground corn, barley, split peas, calcium carbonate, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, dicalcium phosphate, brewers dried yeast, dried spinach, salt, algae meal, marigold extract, calcium propionate, primalac (probiotic), vitamin and mineral mix, DL-methionine, and choline.

[0036] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition in blend form has the following ingredients:

TABLE-US-00003 Ingredient Name Percent EF defatted BSFL meal >15 Whole wheat 10-17 Corn 10-17 Barley 10-17 Split peas 2-10 Calcium carbonate fine 2-10 Sunflower seed 2-10 Flaxseed 2-10 Dicalcium Phosphate 2-10 Brewers Yeast 0.5-5.sup. Spinach dried 0.5-5.sup. Canola Meal 0.5-5.sup. Salt (NaCl) 0.25-2 Algae Meal 0.25-2 Marigold extract 0.25-2 calcium propionate 0.25-1.25 Primalac (probiotic) 0.1-0.5 Vitamin and mineral mix 0.1-0.5 DL methionine 0.05-0.25

[0037] In one embodiment, the nutrient composition in blend form comprises the following pellet/crumble composition:

TABLE-US-00004 Ingredient Inclusion wt. % defatted BSFL meal about 30% Whole wheat about 18% Corn about 30% Calcium carbonate fine about 8% Dicalcium Phosphate about 5% Canola meal about 1.5% Brewers Yeast about 1.8% Spinach dried about 1.8% Salt (NaCl) about 1% Algae Meal about 0.8% Marigold extract about 0.7% calcium propionate about 0.6% Primalac (probiotic) about 0.5% Vitamin and mineral mix as required DL methionine about 0.3% Choline chloride, 85% about 0.2%

[0038] In some embodiments, the nutrient composition is for a bird such as a granivorous poultry species or a food bird such as chicken, duck, turkey, goose, guinea fowl, squab, quail, capon, grouse, swan, dove, pheasant, woodcock, snipe, or chukar. In other embodiments the nutrient composition is for a psittacine bird such as a parrot, cockatoo or Strigopoidean species.

[0039] The invention also provides a method for feeding an animal comprising providing a sufficient amount of a composition of the invention to the animal to meet its nutritional needs.