Darling Ingredients acquired the 50 percent interest in EnviroFlight owned by Intrexon Corp. thereby becoming the sole owner. EnviroFlight developed technology to rear black soldier-fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae on a commercial scale.  The Maysville, KY plant can produce 900 tons of dried larvae annually.  Although EnviroFlight has demonstrated the nutritional value and safety of its product it is yet to attain approval from regulatory agencies to include the ingredient in animal feed.

Commenting on the acquisition, Russ Randall C. Stuewe, CEO of Darling Ingredients stated, “Our purpose is to repurpose and grow for specialty feed ingredients to produce more useable protein compared to algae and conventional crops.”

Dr. Liz Koutsos, president of EnviroFlight noted, “We have focused on driving necessary changes in the global food supply chain to meet the demands of growing population and we look forward to working more closely with Darling Ingredients to realize the considerable promise of insect bioconversion.”