Managing director Raijana Schieman holds up a crate of mealworms at plant of German startup Inova Protein (picture alliance/dpa)
German start-up Inova Protein is expanding and investing in a production site. The aim is to produce insect meal, which, according to managing director Raijana Schiemann, will be used as food. In the future, 1.5 tons of the meal will be produced from mealworms per month at the nearly 800-square-meter production hall in northeastern Germany, she said.
Inova Protein was founded in 2020 and received the Inno Award innovation prize last June for the development, production, and marketing of insect meal. The project is not only of benefit for those who are environmentally and health-conscious, the company said at the time. It is also suitable for athletes and pet food manufacturers.
In May, the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) was the first insect to be approved by the European Union as a novel food. According to the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), the dried larva of the mealworm may be sold whole or ground. It can also be used as an ingredient up to a proportion of 10 percent in various foods, for example pasta or cookies. However, manufacturers would have to include a note on the label about possible cross-reactions to allergies to crustaceans or house dust mites, the BVL said.
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