Progress 07/01/13 to 02/28/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The primary audience for this project is the food industry. The insect-based food ingredients (powders, pastes or liquids) produced by All Things Bugs LLC have a very wide range of commercial applications in the human food, animal/pet feed and nutraceutical industries. Products utilizing these ingredients might include: fortified dry goods, fortified protein supplement powders, high protein fortified porridges and cereals, “meat” substitutes, chitosan (nutraceutical derived from chitin), high protein beverages, protein fortified bars and powders for athletes as well as numerous types of snack foods. Though we are primarily seeking to reach potential customers in the food industry, our project and company successes will also depend on reaching a wider audience through various means. To achieve our goals, both for this USDA SBIR Phase II project and for the company as a whole, we intend our activities to target the following audiences and stake holders: Industry audience: Food companies Ingredient Distributors Nutrient supplement and nutracetuical companies Agricultural Audience: Current and prospective cricket, mealworm, grasshopper and other insect farmers Small farmers Organic Farmers Urban Farmers Farming Innovators and Entrepreneurs Farmers seeking new alternative crops/livestick Consumer audience: Consumers interested in environmentally friendly food sources People interested in healthier sources of protein Athletes Body Builders People with allergies to other protein sources such as soy, dairy, gluten, peanut, etc. Audience for Educational Mission: Press and media Universities (especially Entomology, Agriculture and Food Science departments for curriculum and career development) Organizations promoting sustainability, urban farming, urban agriculture, etc. Government agencies in the US (FDA, USDA, etc.) Governments world-wide (governments in developing nations, etc.) Non-Governmental Organizations (those providing food aid, natural disaster or famine relief, etc.: Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, etc.) Scientific organizations (interested in food, agriculture, health, chemistry, nutrition and/or sustainability such as: Institute of Food Technologists, Entomological Society of America, American Chemical Society, etc.) Environmental Organizations (Sierra Club, World Wide Fund for Nature, United Nations Environment Programme, etc.) Future thinkers, bloggers and thought leaders interested in sustainability, food and health Methods to Reach Target Audiences: Social Media Academic Publications Press Articles Web Site Blogs Paid and Earned Advertisements Articles written by All Things Bugs LLC (for magazines, science themed publications, etc.) Changes/Problems: Farm raised insects are currently too expensive to be a viable protein source for relief food products such as RUTF, which require the very cheapest available ingredients. However, substantial US and international markets have been identified for protein powder made from insects. Thus, our Phase II project will produce additional insect based food ingredient innovations and continue to commercialize these products and innovations. We also continue to be optimistic that with more research, development and economies of scale, insect will become the cheapest animal based protein ingredient on the market in the forseeable future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? USDA SBIR Phase I Results and Accomplishments 1) Evaluated 15 insect species with potential for efficient production as a human food source were for project feasibility. 2) Performed nutrient analysis on three selected species due to lack of such data in the literature and potential as a sustainable food source. 3) Determined that crickets and mealworms were the ideal insects to start with. 4) Assessed edible insect cost and availability from commercial sources. Species determined to have sufficiently stable, safe and economic sourcing in the United States were House Crickets and Yellow Mealworms. 5) Identified and refined a method for removing chitin efficiently. 6) Determined that a fine dry powder ingredient was the most desirable format as the first product, and invented a very efficient method to make very high quality insect powder at industrial scale. 7) Performed initial pilot scale cricket powder production tests. 8) Identified equipment and methods to scale up extraction and chitin removal. 9) Obtained contracts for and conducted processing trials based on Dr. Dossey’s kitchen experiments and nutrient analysis. 10) Measured the efficiency and efficacy of insect processing techniques including. Removal of chitin provided 70-80% total dry matter yields. 11) Determined microbiological and pathogen content of raw crickets and mealworms from large farms within the US. These insects were determined to be lacking in Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria pathogens and surprisingly low in other categories of microbes. 12) Performed full nutrient analysis profile on chitin-free powder from extracted crickets. The powder generated from Dr. Dossey’s process is indeed high in quality protein, high in essential amino acids and high in other desirable nutrients. No significant nutrient loss or destruction from insect processing was observed. 13) Verified that the different forms of insect powder or liquid developed from this project can be reconstituted and/or cooked into meat-like products very easily. 14) Conducted a preliminary accelerated (90°F, 90% humidity) shelf-life study on industrially manufactured whole cricket powder as well as reduced chitin cricket powder. Additionally: 1) Designed RUTF formulations with partial non-insect protein sources. Produced and evaluated these formulations based on texture, taste, color, flowability, microbial safety and packagability. 2) Created prototypes of RUTF products containing varying amounts of powder insect ingredient and evaluated texture, taste and microbial safety. Six formulations which passed initial evaluations were selected and packaged, then compared with a non-insect control. 3) Finalized 6 different RUTF prototypes – produced and packaged multiple samples. 4) Conducted preliminary accelerated (90°F, 90% humidity) shelf-life study on 6 different insect-based RUTF formulations and one non-insect control (with and without chitin). 5) Preliminarily determined that insect-based RUTFs likely have at least a 1 year of shelf life, and it may even be as high as or greater than 2 years (preliminary study is currently ongoing). 6) Determined that for insect-based RUTF to be a cost-effective way to alleviate malnutrition in children world-wide, the cost and availability of farmed insects must improve. Pilot Scale Production and Commercialization/Sale of Insect-Based Food Ingredient Technology: 1) Identified a series of pilot/industrial scale equipment and procedures capable of carrying out Dr. Dossey’s patented process to: 1) generate a high quality insect powder from raw insects and in a way that kills potential pathogens which may be present in raw insects and 2) scale up Dr. Dossey’s chitin removal process for making powder from insects. 2) Performed pilot scale testing to make cricket powder with or without chitin. 3) Achieved successful cricket powder production at pilot and industrial scale - and commercialized the product at wholesale. 4) Successfully made a small pilot scale batch of reduced chitin cricket and mealworm powder. 5) Determined heat treatments which sufficiently mitigated microbial load in raw insect material. 6) Identfied the best methods for drying insects into a powder. 7) Tested pilot scale equipment for the chitin removal process and determined the metod is industrially feasible. 8) Traveled to the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) conference in Chicago in July of 2013 to network and learn more about industrial scale equipment, methods and non-insect ingredients useful for this project and toward production of insect-based foods. 9) PRODUCED AND SOLD PRODUCT: Identified an industrial scale production facility and manufactured over 3,000 pounds (over $100,000 in sales to date) of whole cricket powder and SOLD it all to protein bar, baked good, sack food companies and one university. All Things Bugs LLC is currently negotiating larger ongoing sales contracts with these and other wholesale customers. 10) Performed sensory, safety, heavy metal, micro and nutrient analysis on All Things Bugs LLC’s industrially prepared cricket powder. Other Successful Phase I Accomplishments and Products: 1) Provisional Patent Application: Insect processing methods: efficient methods to mass produce high quality safe powder from insects as a high protein and nutritious human food ingredient, with or without fiberous chitin from insect exoskeletons (can also be used in animal feed). 2) COMMERCIALIZED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Used Dr. Dossey’s patent pending process to manufacture and SELL over 2,000 pounds (to date) of whole cricket powder to protein bar, baked good, sack food companies and one university. All Things Bugs LLC is currently negotiating larger ongoing sales contracts with these and other wholesale customers. 3) Secured customers for All Things Bugs LLC’s whole cricket powder. Worked out full supply chain and details with contract manufacturer, liability insurance, Certificate of Analysis, etc. Demonstrated full commercial viability of the company’s insect-based protein powder product! 4) Prototypes of products containing varying amounts of insect. 5) Article in The-Scientist magazine Dossey A. T. (2013). Why Insects Should Be in Your Diet. The-Scientist. 27:22-23. 6) Book chapter: Shockley M. and A. T. Dossey. 2014. Insects for Human Consumption. In Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms Invertebrates and Entomopathogens. J. A. Morales-Ramos, M. G. Rojas and D. I. Shapiro-Ilan (Eds.). Chapter 18. Pp/ 617-652. 7) Dr. Dossey gave 2 talks and submitted abstracts for the IFT conference and expo on food science (New Orleans, LA, USA; June 21-24, 2014). 8) Dr. Dossey also published a paper and abstract for the XLIX Congeso Nacional de Entomologia de la SME (Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico; June 20-25, 2014) where presented a poster on All Things Bugs LLC, insects as a sustainable food source as well as some of the results from the SBIR Phase I project.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: COMMERCIALIZED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Used Dr. Dosseys patent pending process to manufacture and SELL over 2,000 pounds (to date) of whole cricket powder to protein bar, baked good, sack food companies and one university. All Things Bugs LLC is currently negotiating larger ongoing sales contracts with these and other wholesale customers.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Book chapter: Shockley M. and A. T. Dossey. 2014. Insects for Human Consumption. In Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms Invertebrates and Entomopathogens. J. A. Morales-Ramos, M. G. Rojas and D. I. Shapiro-Ilan (Eds.). Chapter 18. Pp/ 617-652.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Article in The-Scientist magazine Dossey A. T. (2013). Why Insects Should Be in Your Diet. The-Scientist. 27:22-23.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: A poster and paper for the XLIX Congeso Nacional de Entomologia de la SME (Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico; June 20-25, 2014) where presented a poster on All Things Bugs LLC, insects as a sustainable food source as well as some of the results from the SBIR Phase I project.