INSECTA conference inspires participants from all over the world
Potsdam was once again a forum for the renowned INSECTA conference from 14 to 16 May 2024. More than 220 guests from 41 countries made the pilgrimage to the Brandenburg state capital to discuss the latest trends and developments relating to insects as an innovative solution for nutrition and the bioeconomy.
Four renowned experts opened the programme with their keynotes: Prof. Dr Andreas Vilcinskas, Prof. Laura Gasco, Dr Gertje Petersen and Prof. Dr Sergiy M. Smetana provided important impetus with their inspiring presentations. A total of 56 lectures and 65 poster presentations provided participants with information on the range of current research – from insect production and processing to food safety and non-food-related applications.
The CIPROMED project, which was presented by Laura Gasco and Christos Athanassiou, also deserves a special mention. There was even a tasting of different types of bread baked from different proportions of insect flour.
CIPROMED has set itself the goal of increasing the stability and resilience of agricultural and food production in the Mediterranean region. On the one hand, locally produced, traditional crops are to be better utilised. On the other hand, processes are being developed to obtain proteins from agricultural residues and by-products such as oil cake or spent grains.
On the other hand, processes are being developed to extract proteins from agricultural residues and by-products such as oil cake or spent grains. These are then further utilised as feed ingredients from insects and microalgae. This creates a sustainable cycle that increases value creation in the region while also taking ecological aspects into account.
The Institute of Food and Environmental Research (ILU) is a partner in the CIPROMED project and is responsible for the heterotrophic cultivation of the microalgae Galdieria sulphuraria in order to achieve high protein yields using innovative processes based on food residues.
The INSECTA conference once again provided an important platform for promoting interdisciplinary dialogue between science, industry and society and for advancing the insect industry. The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy e.V. (ATB) as host can look back with satisfaction on a very successful event.
Image source: Jessica Lietze (ATB)
