UK Edible Insect Association

🪰 We are delighted that UKEIA has been invited to attend the upcoming IPIFF event and look forward to joining colleagues, innovators and industry leaders from across Europe. As the voice of the UK edible insect sector, opportunities such as this are invaluable in strengthening collaboration, sharing best practice and ensuring the UK remains closely connected to developments taking place across the wider European insect industry. The insect sector is entering an exciting phase of growth, driven by circular economy solutions, sustainable protein production and novel ingredients for food, feed and agriculture. Events like these help foster the partnerships and conversations needed to accelerate progress. A huge thank you to the team at IPIFF for the invitation. We are looking forward to representing the UK sector, exchanging ideas and helping shape the future of insects as part of a resilient and sustainable food system. #UKEIA #IPIFF2026 #InsectsForEurope #CircularEconomy #BlackSoldierFly #NovelFoods #SustainableAgriculture #FoodInnovation

🐾 Closing our UKEIA Insect Week series 🐾 And the focus being driving responsible and consistent demand for this growing industry. "Insects are so much more than protein — they're so much more than a sustainability story." - Laura Stanford (Board Director) She goes on to say -  "We've spent too long selling insects as a sustainable protein swap. The real story is functional: chitin for gut health, lauric acid (the same fatty acid found in breast milk) for immune support, and lipids for healthy skin and coats. Insects belong on the ingredient list because they work — not just because they're sustainable." This UKEIA manifesto has two halves. First, pet food: insects are already regulated for inclusion here, which makes it the engine of demand the whole sector needs — ideally using UK-grown insects. Second, the circular economy: rethinking "waste" as food for an insect, recovering nutrients before they're lost forever, and unlocking frass as a high-value co-product. Processed insects still can't enter the UK's £8.3bn animal feed market because of regulation. Changing that is exactly the work this board exists to do. 🎧 Catch the full episode: https://lnkd.in/exH9ep83 - UKEIA's first-ever podcast Board Directors - Geoffrey Knott (Crickets and Human Food), Emma Strong (Mealworms and Frass), Adam Bensusan (BSF and Waste Management) #InsectWeek #UKEIA #PetFood #CircularEconomy #SustainableProtein #FutureOfFood

🪰 Day three of UKEIA's Insect Week series 🪰  And the focus: Black Soldier Fly — nature's ultimate recyclers. "Beef protein generates roughly 30kg of CO₂ equivalent per kilogram. BSF insect meal is around four. This is not a marginal improvement — it's a transformation." - Adam Bensusan (Board Director) He goes on to say -  "I've spent 16 years in food waste and anaerobic digestion. BSF can take 10 tonnes of surplus food and convert it in around 10 days into sustainable protein, oils, and frass — one of the best natural fertilisers on the planet." The BSF Manifesto sets out six pillars: turning waste into value, carbon leadership, British feed for British security (cutting reliance on imported soya and fishmeal), industry standards, collaboration, and commercial scale. The timing matters too. As household food-waste collections roll out and gate fees shift, BSF is becoming genuinely commercially viable — not just sustainable. Adam's belief, simply put: the future isn't always bigger, faster or more complicated. Sometimes the smartest solution is one nature invented millions of years ago. 🎧 Listen to episode one: https://lnkd.in/exH9ep83 - UKEIA's first-ever podcast Board Directors - Geoffrey Knott (Crickets and Human Food), Emma Strong (Mealworms and Frass), Laura Stanford (Pet Food and the Circular Economy) #InsectWeek #UKEIA #BlackSoldierFly #WasteToValue #NetZero #CircularEconomy

🪱 Day two of our UKEIA Insect Week series 🪱 — and is about mealworms and frass: nature's unsung heroes. "Frass is the co-product that changes the whole financial model — and right now, the regulation around it is holding producers back from realising that value." - Emma Strong (Board Director) She goes on to say - "Frass — the by-product of insect farming — is a genuinely excellent biological fertiliser: slow-release nitrogen, beneficial microbiomes, micronutrients, and chitin that supports drought resilience and acts as a natural biopesticide. You can't get that combination from a chemical product." The UK Mealworm Manifesto is about moving our sector from the experimental to the commercial. The biology works. What's holding us back is fragmented regulation, inconsistent standards, and the under-investment that follows. It's five pillars tackle exactly that: feed and food security, agri-tech and automation, traceable supply chains, clearer standards — and the collaboration that means knowledge is shared, not siloed. And it's happening now: last week UKEIA submitted advisory evidence to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) fertiliser consultation to give insect frass the regulatory category it deserves. Real policy impact! 🎧 Hear the full story in episode one: https://lnkd.in/exH9ep83 - UKEIA's first-ever podcast Board Directors - Geoffrey Knott (Crickets and Human Food), Laura Stanford (Pet Food and the Circular Economy), Adam Bensusan (BSF and Waste Management) #InsectWeek #UKEIA #Mealworms #Frass #CircularEconomy #RegenerativeAgriculture

🦗 It's Insect Week 🦗 "This is not a novelty sector. It's not a niche. It's a serious, science-backed, investable part of the UK's food and feed future." - Geoffrey Knott (Chairman of UKEIA) Geoff came into this industry from a sports-nutrition background, and it was the science that convinced him. Crickets are a complete protein — high in fibre, packed with micronutrients and bioactive compounds. But the Cricket Manifesto is honest about the real challenge:  "I'm asking people to eat something unfamiliar. That makes this a cultural shift as much as a regulatory or supply one — and it's one I believe we'll win, just as sushi did." Five pillars guide the work: prove the nutrition through human trials, build cricket protein into mainstream formats people actually want (think pasta, not just protein bars), secure domestic supply, lead on Novel Foods regulation, and scale the whole value chain. 🎧 Listen to episode one: https://lnkd.in/exH9ep83 — UKEIA's first-ever UKEIA podcast is now live. Board Directors - Laura Stanford (Pet Food and the Circular Economy), Adam Bensusan (BSF and Waste Management), Emma Strong (Mealworms and Frass) #InsectWeek #UKEIA #Crickets #FutureOfFood #EdibleInsects #NovelFoods

Happy Insect Week! Enjoy our pilot podcast - link to listen is 👇 here - Enjoy! Get in touch with us if you would like to appear on future episodes or have any ideas for future episodes. Geoffrey Knott Adam Bensusan Emma Strong Laura Stanford https://lnkd.in/exH9ep83

📣 It’s nearly here 🎉

We're very excited about this project...get in touch if you want to find out more, keep in loop on the outputs, pilot in your area, and more!

Last week, UKEIA joined the Royal Entomological Society for a policy roundtable on the emerging Insect Farming Codes of Practice — generously hosted by Lloyds Banking Group in central London. This felt like an important step for the UK insect farming sector. If insect farming is to move from niche innovation to a credible part of UK food, feed, farming and circular economy systems, the sector needs more than ambition. It needs clear, evidence-led standards that producers, regulators, retailers, investors and the public can trust. That is why this collaboration with RES matters. The Royal Entomological Society brings scientific independence, credibility and a public-benefit mission to a sector that needs rigorous, practical and transparent foundations for growth. UKEIA brings the industry voice: farmers, food businesses, feed innovators, researchers and SMEs trying to build this sector in the real world. The discussion covered some of the big issues now shaping the sector: • credibility and trust in voluntary standards • implementation challenges for producers • regulatory readiness • frass and by-product routes to market • feed assurance and FEMAS • the implications of UK–EU SPS realignment • the need to normalise insects through science-led public engagement A clear theme emerged: Codes of Practice are not a substitute for regulation, but they can become a vital bridge between innovation, assurance and policy. Thank you to Jessica, Simon, Adam, Geoffrey and the RES team for leading such a constructive session — and to Lloyds for hosting a sector conversation that deserves more mainstream attention. The UK has a real opportunity to lead in responsible insect farming. But that will only happen if industry, science, policy and finance work together early. #InsectFarming #AlternativeProtein #CircularEconomy #FoodInnovation #AgriTech #Entomology #UKEIA #RoyalEntomologicalSociety

Today we're celebrating the planet — and the tiny powerhouses helping us build a better one. 🦗 At UKEIA, we believe some of the biggest solutions come in the smallest packages. So here's to some of our favourites: 🪰 Black Soldier Fly – turning waste into value 🦗 Crickets – nutrient-dense and endlessly versatile 🐛 Mealworms – protein with a fraction of the footprint But insects are so much more than protein. They're functional ingredients powering the next generation of food and feed. And let's not forget the unsung hero of the circular economy — insect frass: a natural, organic fertiliser bringing life back to our soils in a world battling chemical overload, degradation, and falling yields. 🌱 Stronger food systems. Healthier soils. A more resilient planet. That's the future we're farming. Today we celebrate: 👏 Researchers creating the depth of knowledge on this newish industry 👏 The insect farmers around the world doing the hard, brilliant work 👏 The brands and products putting insects on shelves and in feed 👏 The consumers (you) who vote with their wallets for a happier, healthier planet Every bug counts. 🌍💚 #WorldEnvironmentDay #EdibleInsects #SustainableFarming #InsectProtein #CircularEconomy #FutureOfFood #UKEIA