Study backs black soldier fly meal as soybean alternative in broilers

Black soldier fly larvae meal is getting another look as a soybean substitute in broiler nutrition, and a newly published study in Veterinary Sciences adds cautious support for its use. In the trial, researchers evaluated whether black soldier fly larvae meal could replace soybean meal in Ross 708 broiler diets without compromising growth, carcass outcomes, meat quality, or basic health markers. Across replacement levels of 20%, 40%, and 60%, they found no major detrimental effects under the study conditions. (mdpi.com)

The work lands in a broader push to reduce reliance on conventional protein sources such as soybean meal, which remains a cornerstone of poultry feed but is tied to price swings, land-use concerns, and supply-chain risk. Black soldier fly ingredients have been studied for years in poultry, aquaculture, and swine because they can convert organic side streams into protein and fat. Review literature has generally described black soldier fly meal as a promising poultry ingredient, though outcomes depend heavily on formulation, processing, age of birds, and how much of the diet is replaced. (mdpi.com)

In the new study, 160 ten-day-old chicks were randomized to four diets, with black soldier fly larvae meal replacing soybean meal on a 100% equivalent basis at 0%, 20%, 40%, or 60% during the starter, grower, and finisher phases. According to the article summary, the investigators tracked growth performance, feed efficiency, carcass traits, meat quality, and blood biochemical indicators, and concluded that the ingredient could be incorporated at these levels without major harm to performance or health status. That aligns directionally with earlier broiler work indexed in PubMed showing that partial or even complete soybean meal replacement can be feasible in some settings, while also affecting measures such as short-chain fatty acids and excreta metabolomics. It also fits with other insect-meal broiler data showing that low-level inclusion of full-fat Hermetia illucens or Tenebrio molitor meal did not affect growth, feed intake, feed conversion, or mortality, even though some secondary outcomes shifted by ingredient and dose. (mdpi.com)

Those secondary outcomes are worth keeping in view. In the Animals broiler study of 1,750 Ross 308 males, breast yield was higher in insect-fed groups than in controls, but birds fed 4% H. illucens had lower breast pH and higher cooking loss, suggesting some reduction in water-holding capacity within acceptable limits. Thigh meat showed dose-dependent lipid accumulation in insect-fed birds. The same study found higher total and HDL cholesterol in T. molitor-fed birds, unchanged LDL cholesterol, and shorter ileal length in the mealworm groups compared with control and black soldier fly groups. In other words, “safe” inclusion does not necessarily mean a biologically neutral ingredient. (mdpi.com)

At the same time, the wider evidence base is more nuanced than a simple “soy out, insects in” narrative. A recent meta-analysis in Animal Production Science concluded that black soldier fly inclusion was safe up to about 10% and most effective in shorter feeding windows, suggesting that formulation details still matter. Other published work has reported possible tradeoffs in meat quality, especially fatty acid composition, when black soldier fly meal replaces a large share of conventional protein, and some sustainability analyses have challenged the assumption that insect meal is always environmentally superior to soybean meal. There is also evidence that reducing soybean meal itself can have consequences if the replacement strategy is not carefully managed: in one broiler study, a 10% soybean meal reduction increased mortality and feed intake during days 22 to 42, reduced ether extract availability, and shifted cecal microbiota toward higher relative abundance of Campylobacterota and Helicobacter. Adding graded raffinose partly modulated those changes and tended to reduce mortality, but also lowered gross energy and dry matter utilization and altered intestinal gene expression. (publish.csiro.au)

From an industry and regulatory standpoint, the story is becoming more practical. AAFCO documents show dried black soldier fly larvae were added as a feed ingredient for salmonid, poultry, and swine feed, and FDA’s 2024 enforcement guidance supports continued use of ingredients listed in AAFCO’s Official Publication in interstate commerce. That doesn’t settle questions around economics or formulation, but it does mean poultry nutrition teams in the U.S. are operating in a clearer regulatory environment than in the early stages of insect-feed development. The broader alternative-protein push is also not limited to poultry: a recent piglet study reported that live Tenebrio molitor larvae improved early feed efficiency, growth, and health indicators after weaning, with lower diarrhea and respiratory disorders and acceptable performance even under a moderately reduced crude-protein diet. While that does not translate directly to broilers, it reinforces the idea that insect-derived ingredients may have functional effects beyond simple protein replacement. (aafco.org)

Why it matters: For veterinarians and technical advisors in poultry production, this study is useful less because it closes the case and more because it strengthens the evidence that insect protein can be used without obvious short-term harm in broilers when diets are properly balanced. That has implications for feed resilience, ingredient diversification, and conversations with integrators weighing cost against sustainability goals. It also raises familiar veterinary questions: whether blood chemistry and performance data translate into durable flock-level health benefits, whether gut and immune effects are consistent across operations, and whether meat quality changes could matter downstream for processors and consumers. That last point deserves emphasis because feed interventions that look acceptable on growth can still shift product characteristics; for example, separate broiler work with stevia extract changed multiple meat quality-related measures, underscoring that final carcass and meat outcomes remain part of the practical equation when evaluating novel feed ingredients. (mdpi.com)

There’s also a practical caution for clinicians and nutritionists: “black soldier fly meal” is not one uniform ingredient. Nutrient profile can shift with substrate, larval stage, fat extraction, and processing, which helps explain why trial outcomes vary across the literature. That variability means veterinary oversight of formulation, quality assurance, and performance monitoring will remain important if pet parents increasingly expect more sustainable animal agriculture and if producers move these ingredients from pilot projects into standard broiler programs. This last point is an inference based on the variability described across studies and regulatory definitions. (mdpi.com)

What to watch: The next phase will likely focus on commercial-scale validation, cost competitiveness versus soybean meal, standardized ingredient specifications, and more detailed work on gut health, immune function, and meat lipid quality before high-inclusion insect meal becomes routine in broiler diets. Expect continued attention to how soybean reduction strategies affect nutrient utilization and microbiota, and to whether novel proteins or adjunct additives can preserve both flock performance and downstream meat quality in real-world broiler systems. (publish.csiro.au)