Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
118 NEWINS-ZEIGLER HALL
GAINESVILLE,FL 32611
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Improving Food Security in the Face of Pandemics / COVID-19: Diversifying Protein via Mechanized High Density Mealworm FarmingOur target problem is the unsustainable, unstable food supply for animal protein in the face of pandemics such as COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus). Current sources of animal protein such as mammals and poultry are unsustainable and pose production and biosecurity risks. We must learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and make appropriate changes, including how our food is produced. Pandemics cause supply chain problems in animal protein. However, insect farms are easily quarantined and continue production with skeleton staff. Insects have a good shelf-stability, eliminating need for culling. There is almost no risk of viruses jumping from farm raised edible insects to humans, making them safe for consumers and farm workers. Insect farming being indoors means no exposure to environmental pathogens. With our innovation, small to midsize farms could easily farm mealworms for non-seasonal production, providing much needed income. Diversification of our food supply is critical for food security. The good news is insects, ie. mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), are a sustainable solution. They use less energy, feed, land and water than other livestock, contributing less to climate change and pollution. Over 30 companies in the US already offer products with crickets as a key ingredient. All Things Bugs LLC led the development of crickets as a protein source, selling over 15,000 pounds of Griopro® cricket powder. However, cost of insects is higher than beef, yet beef requires 10 to 100 times more resources. Equipment and technologies for insect farming are primitive and manual (unchanged in 60 years) resulting in high costs. Major food manufacturers are ready to use insects as a key ingredient, but cost must be on par with other proteins. Thus, there is a need for innovation in US mealworm farming to compete globally.The insect based food market, primarily crickets, is valued at $105M, growing to $1.53 billion by 2021. To become competitive, the industry must innovate and diversify. Mealworms have advantages over crickets. They are more disease resistant, produced at higher density and are amenable to mechanized automated farming. The mission of this SBIR is to contribute value and ingredient diversity to the food industry. Our innovation is a state-of-the-art, Insect Production System (IPS) designed to reduce cost, increase efficiency and scale of mealworm farming. Such innovation could lead to the highest production efficiencies of any protein production system. With this system, we believe mealworms can be produced at or below $1 per pound.This Phase I project will develop a mechanized mealworm production system. With these funds we will: 1) Test materials, parts and concepts to refine our design, 2) Construct a prototypes of our IPS and 3) Test the prototype to monitor mealworm mortality and overall system function. If successful, this project will be a critical step toward revolutionizing the food industry by adding value to an industry based on an entire Class of animals largely ignored - Insecta.All Things Bugs LLC (www.crickepowder.com) (founded 2011), is an industry world leader. Recently, major news sources have covered insect as a food source, often mentioning his company. Examples include: Huffington Post, Forbes, Fortune, The New Yorker, Fox News and others. Dr. Dossey published the first comprehensive book, "Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients" covering all aspects of insects as food. Using patent pending technology, his company has sold to numerous food companies, and received over $4 million in research funding from USDA, DARPA, OCAST and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
100%
Goals / Objectives
Our target problem is the unsustainable, unstable food supply for animal protein in the face of pandemics such as COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus). Current sources of animal protein such as mammals and poultry are unsustainable and pose production and biosecurity risks. We must learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and make appropriate changes, including how our food is produced. Pandemics cause supply chain problems in animal protein. However, insect farms are easily quarantined and continue production with skeleton staff. Insects have a good shelf-stability, eliminating need for culling. There is almost no risk of viruses jumping from farm raised edible insects to humans, making them safe for consumers and farm workers. Insect farming being indoors means no exposure to environmental pathogens. With our innovation, small to midsize farms could easily farm mealworms for non-seasonal production, providing much needed income. Diversification of our food supply is critical for food security. The good news is insects, ie. mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), are a sustainable solution. They use less energy, feed, land and water than other livestock, contributing less to climate change and pollution. Over 30 companies in the US already offer products with crickets as a key ingredient. All Things Bugs LLC led the development of crickets as a protein source, selling over 15,000 pounds of Griopro® cricket powder. However, cost of insects is higher than beef, yet beef requires 10 to 100 times more resources. Equipment and technologies for insect farming are primitive and manual (unchanged in 60 years) resulting in high costs. Major food manufacturers are ready to use insects as a key ingredient, but cost must be on par with other proteins. Thus, there is a need for innovation in US mealworm farming to compete globally.The insect based food market, primarily crickets, is valued at $105M, growing to $1.53 billion by 2021. To become competitive, the industry must innovate and diversify. Mealworms have advantages over crickets. They are more disease resistant, produced at higher density and are amenable to mechanized automated farming. The mission of this SBIR is to contribute value and ingredient diversity to the food industry. Our innovation is a state-of-the-art, Insect Production System (IPS) designed to reduce cost, increase efficiency and scale of mealworm farming. Such innovation could lead to the highest production efficiencies of any protein production system. With this system, we believe mealworms can be produced at or below $1 per pound.This Phase I project will develop a mechanized mealworm production system. With these funds we will: 1) Test materials, parts and concepts to refine our design, 2) Construct a prototypes of our IPS and 3) Test the prototype to monitor mealworm mortality and overall system function. If successful, this project will be a critical step toward revolutionizing the food industry by adding value to an industry based on an entire Class of animals largely ignored - Insecta.All Things Bugs LLC (www.crickepowder.com) (founded 2011), is an industry world leader. Recently, major news sources have covered insect as a food source, often mentioning his company. Examples include: Huffington Post, Forbes, Fortune, The New Yorker, Fox News and others. Dr. Dossey published the first comprehensive book, "Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients" covering all aspects of insects as food. Using patent pending technology, his company has sold to numerous food companies, and received over $4 million in research funding from USDA, DARPA, OCAST and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Test materials, parts and system components and concepts to refine the final Phase I Insect Production System (IPS) design. Method of approach: Our team will evaluate materials, surface modifications, parts, mechanisms, and automation features needed for a successful and functional IPS prototype.Objective 2: Construct at least 1 complete prototype of the Insect Production System (IPS).Method of approach: All Things Bugs LLC (along with Dr. Aaron T. Dossey; President, Founder and Owner) is one of the world's leading firms in insect based food and edible insect mass production technologies. The New Product Development Center (NPDC) team has a rich history in new product design that stems from more than a decade of providing engineering support to small- and medium-sized companies in Oklahoma. Our team is well-equipped to produce a state-of-the-art mechanized (automated in Phase II) mealworm farming system under the guidance of Dr. Dossey (see biographical sections below). The goal of our design is to develop a mechanized mealworm farming system that will minimize human labor input to the process while providing an optimum environment for mealworm growth and minimizing waste.Objective 3: Test prototypes growing trays through a 4 month mealworm growth cycle (and make modifications and re-designs as needed. At the end we should have a working prototype. Method of approach: Initially in Objective 3 we will evaluate our completed Insect Production System (IPS) modules for their ability to hold all sizes of mealworms without escape, open and eject full grown larval mealworms, separate them from waste and feed and convey them to a harvesting bin/box.