Recycling Organic Wastes Using Black Soldier Fly and House Fly Larvae as Broiler Feed

Sustainable food waste management remains a major concern in urban areas. We investigated the potentials of the black soldier fly (BSF) and house fly (HF) to recycle fruit waste into larval biomass which can be used as a highly rich protein source in broilers diet. Fruit waste was collected from a local market in Dschang, Cameroon, and subjected to different treatments with the two insects at the Dschang University farm. Treatments with HF received additional fish offal as bait. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and house fly larvae (HFL) biomasses from recycling activities were sampled and analysed for proximate and mineral composition and then used to replace fishmeal in a standard control broilers diet. The experiment took place at the poultry facility of the University, and their effects in broilers were evaluated using growth and haematology parameters. HFL achieved a bioconversion rate of 12.03% compared to 08.35% with BSFL, and the larval meal from HFL was more concentrated in protein and lipid than that from BSFL. However, the two products are not entirely comparable since the two insects larvae were reared on partly different substrates. Their use in diets did not adversely affect the growth parameters and health of broilers, and no mortality was recorded. Based on the results, BSFLM and HFLM can be used as an alternative source of animal protein in broilers diet. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.