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[Seoul Newspaper Exclusive] ‘Food waste solver’ and ‘real-life version of Lava’ insect BSF livestock recognized

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Passed the ecosystem risk review and announced new law revisions


Resolving food waste and utilizing animal feed

30,000㎡ industrialization facility available exclusively for production areas

Alternative protein source for cows, fecal soil is fertilizer

There are endless uses for pet food and livestock feed.

“Natural antibiotics in molt, possible development of medicine”

The number of farms has quadrupled in four years... Profit increased 13 times


BSF, an environmental purification insect called the ‘food waste solver’ given by nature, is finally recognized as livestock.


This will open the way for industrial use of black soldier flies. BSF is an insect that has been attracting attention in the livestock compound feed and pet food industries, which rely on imports for 80%, as well as the pharmaceutical industry that utilizes useful high-protein antibiotics.


Ministry of Environment opposed concerns over ‘ecosystem harm’

Livestock recognized three months after farm inspection

Selected as a regulatory innovation new industry task in October last year


The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 3rd that American BSF, an exotic species, has passed the Ministry of Environment's risk review.


In a phone call with the Seoul Shinmun, a key official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, “We plan to complete the survey of opinions from related ministries and agencies by the 10th and finalize and promulgate a notice to revise the Livestock Act recognizing BSF as livestock for feed around August.”

Along with BSF, rice locusts will also be recognized as edible livestock this time.

BSF is considered a resource-recycling insect because it can use leftover food as a food source.


Although it is an invasive species, it is not a pest that stings or sucks blood, but is a beneficial insect composed of 42% high protein nutrients.

They live for a month and lay 900 to 1,000 eggs. The larvae of the black soldier fly are dried and powdered and used as pet food and livestock feed.

Continuous growth is expected in the future due to the training of feed insect industry companies and increased farm income.


An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, “Dongae, which can be used as a nutritional additive in powder form for dog, chicken, and fish feed, has a short breeding period and has a high protein content of 40-50%, so it can replace cows and pigs (20-30%). “It is a viable future protein source,” he said.



‘Economy of scale’ increases farm profits… tax relief

Training of companies related to the insect industry... Sustainable growth


Previously, when discussing regulatory innovation in August last year, the Ministry of Environment did not recognize BSF as ‘livestock’ due to concerns about the ecological harm caused by black soldier flies, an invasive species. Then, two months later, at a joint meeting of related ministries in October, ‘expansion of the scope of feed insects recognized as livestock’ was selected as a regulatory innovation task in the new industry field.


The Ministry of Environment accepted the BSF livestock designation plan in May, three months after inspecting three farms in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in February, on the premise of enacting and revising a breeding manual to prepare for problems such as external leakage and pest control of Dongae. There are currently 14 species of insects recognized as livestock, of which only two species are used as feed: brown mealworms and king crickets.


If BSF is recognized as livestock for feed, breeding farms can benefit from a 50% reduction in acquisition tax and local education tax, and exemption from special taxation for rural and fishing communities.


In particular, as insect breeding facilities are applied as livestock facilities, the area of land dedicated to production areas, which was previously limited to less than 3,000 m2, increases to less than 30,000 m2, making it possible to build industrialized facilities. Even before it was designated as livestock, the number of farms raising black soldier flies for feed has already increased more than four-fold in four years from 51 farms in 2017 to 223 in 2021, showing a high response from farmers. During the same period, primary product sales revenue also jumped 13 times from 848 million won to 10.884 billion won.



Eating food waste

Excrement is also a high-quality feed raw material.


When BSF is not recognized as livestock, it must purchase or receive processed food waste, which incurs considerable costs. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs predicts that in the future, it will be possible to immediately collect food waste from companies, reducing the cost burden.


An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, “There are BSF farmers in Cheongju, Cheongbuk. Now, if the farmers sign a contract to bring in leftover food from the SK Hynix cafeteria in the same area without having to buy it, it will reduce the cost burden on each other and help clean up the environment.” said. BSF itself is used as a mixed feed to replace grains, but the fecal soil produced by black soldier flies after processing food in the soil has very good cultivating properties and is also used as fertilizer.


Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun said in an interview with the Seoul Shinmun last February, “Cows need to feed 11kg of grain feed to get 1kg of beef protein, but insects can get 1kg of protein from just 1.5kg of the same feed, so it is not economically feasible. “This is very high,” he said.


Minister Jeong said, “Dongae can save the environment by processing food waste, and even turn excrement into protein chunks that can be used as feed raw materials, killing three birds with one stone.” He added, “Among the green bio industries, insects are the most important.” He emphasized, “It is a useful protein with infinite antibiotics, as it secretes natural antibiotics during the molting process and can be used as an expensive medicine.” <Seoul Newspaper, February 6, page 8>



Source: https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20230703500254


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