PPM and ATB provide an international expert’s platform on insects as food, feed and non-food

On 12^th of September 2016, the Pilot Pflanzenöltechnologie Magdeburg e.V. (PPM) and the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) invited scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and politicians to the Natural History Museum in Magdeburg for the INSECTA. In 2015, PPM had established the first national conference on the use of insects as food and feed very successfully. The Congress received great public interest, so that PPM developed it in 2016 further into an international conference together with the new cooperation partner ATB.

A total of 135 participants from 24 countries, including Canada, Israel, China, Russia and South Africa had come to Magdeburg to discuss the latest status of research, resources and constraints of the insects use. The participants were especially excited about the presentations of the two keynote speakers Professor Arnold van Huis of the FAO and Prof. Andreas Vilcinskas from LOEWE center. Apart from these two internationally renowned researchers in the field of insect utilization and biotechnology, also Dr. Tilemachos Goumperis of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Mr. Heinrich Katz, representative of European insects network „IPIFF“, could be won. With a total of 16 presentations and 32 poster presentations the INSECTA 2016 offered a highly sophisticated and wide-ranging program.

Topics

Technical, commercial, ecological, political and ethical issues of insect utilization were discussed, in particular:

Insects production systems

Application of insects as feed

Utilization of insects as food

Evaluation of the use of insects

Non-food applications of insects

Conference photos