Enterra facility in Calgary to reduce food waste through sustainable insect production
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, has announced that Enterra Feed Corporation (Enterra) received $6 million under the AgriInnovate Program to help increase the production of sustainable, nutritious products to feed animals while helping to keep waste food out of landfills.
This funding supported the construction of a full-scale commercial facility, as well as the adoption of innovative equipment and processes to increase production capacity and improve efficiency, making it the first operation of its kind in Canada. Through the AgriInnovate Program, Enterra has established an 188,000-square-foot production facility just north of Calgary, Alberta in Rocky View County. At this facility, Enterra has been producing insect-based feed ingredients, with products for the pet food, poultry and wild bird markets being shipped throughout North America as well as recent expansion to the European Union.
Enterra has developed proprietary farming methods to raise black soldier flies, a beneficial, non-invasive insect species with a rich nutritional profile. The company uses recycled food waste from local farms, grocery stores and food production facilities to feed the insects, which are then dried and processed into animal feed ingredients and fertilizer for plants. At its new facility, Enterra is able to recycle more than 130 tonnes of food waste per day. Operation of the facility also brought more than 65 jobs to the local economy.
