Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest producers of beef, pork, and chicken, is betting big on a new source of protein: insects. In an announcement early last week, Tyson revealed a new corporate partnership with Dutch company Protix, which specializes in insect ingredients, to pursue “more sustainable protein production.”
Through the new partnership announced in an October 17 news release, Tyson Foods will become a minority owner of the Netherlands-based company, which bills itself as “the leading global insect ingredients company.” Additionally, Tyson will facilitate Protix’s international expansion, constructing an American facility for the company.
Protix, which was founded in 2019 is “on a mission to create low-footprint ingredients that solve major issues in the current food system.” The company specializes in fertilizers, pet food, livestock feed, and other related products derived from the black soldier fly. The flies are raised on animal waste before being processed into proteins and lipids, which are sold for use in food manufacturing. The new US facility (location to be determined) will breed, raise, and harvest the flies under one roof, exceeding the 14,000 metric tons of insect nutrients produced annually in the Netherlands.
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“Our partnership with Protix represents the latest strategic investment by Tyson Foods in groundbreaking solutions that drive added value to Tyson Foods’ business,” said Tyson Foods Chief Financial Officer John R. Tyson. “The insect lifecycle provides the opportunity for full circularity within our value chain, strengthening our commitment to building a more sustainable food system for the future.”
While the Tyson-Protix partnership is not intended to create insect products for direct human consumption (at least not yet), John Tyson described the insect ingredient marker as “a multibillion-dollar industry opportunity that has tremendous growth potential.”
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The use of insects as a sustainable, eco-friendly food alternative has gradually taken off around the world thanks to the efforts of groups like the World Economic Forum and the European Union. Despite reactions of revulsion from the developed Western world, ecologists have pitched insect-based foods as a direct replacement for conventional meat products.
Earlier this year, the European Food Safety Agency approved the use of cricket and mealworm flour (made by freeze-drying and grinding up whole insects) in baked goods and other foods. Efforts to convince the public to embrace insect ingredients—and even accept direct consumption of entire insects—are underway around the world.
Despite the push by environmentalists, switching to a bug-centric diet is not a perfect solution given the presence of bacteria and parasites in many insect species, as well as the human body’s inability to digest chitin, the material that makes up an insect’s exoskeleton. Insect ingredients also pose a possible risk to those with shellfish allergies.
The Protix facility built by Tyson Foods in the United States is scheduled to begin operation by mid-2025.
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