Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), one of the US’s largest meat processing companies, is to invest in Protix International, a specialist in insect ingredients.
The deal will see Tyson take a direct minority stake in Protix as well as jointly building an insect ingredient facility, the first of its kind in the States.
By-products from Tyson’s food processing business, which makes burger patties, hamburgers and salami, will be used to feed insects to make proteins and lipids for use in pet food, aquaculture and livestock feeds.
Tyson has already introduced pea protein products into its range and said: “The insect lifecycle provides the opportunity for full circularity within our value chain, strengthening our commitment to building a more sustainable food system for the future.”
Protix said the plant will handle the “breeding, incubating, and hatching of insect larvae”.
Currently, it produces 14,000 tonnes of insect protein from a factory in the Netherlands.