FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The use of our Tenebrio molitor-based products offers a good number of environmental and health benefits as well as benefits for social resources and livelihoods.

WHY ARE WE WORKING IN FAVOUR OF A CIRCULAR ECONOMY MODEL?

At Tebrio we are leaders and we do this with unique processes that allow us to develop a more environmentally-friendly and more sustainable circular economy model.

Our commitment to the environment and sustainability

Our proprietary production processes are one of the keys that allows us to not only farm and process insects for their different uses in food, plant nutrition and other industrial and non-industrial uses, but to also do it with a circular economy model.

What does it mean to work based on a circular economy model?

Not only is the linear economy model becoming obsolete, but it should be abandoned as a measure to combat overexploitation and exhaustion of resources. The linear economy model does not contemplate a reuse of resources, whilst the circular economy is based on the principle of closing the life cycle of products, services, waste, materials, water and energy.

This principle involves aspects such as reuse and recycling to limit waste production so that more value is given to resources such as water, energy or raw materials in favour of sustainability.

What do we do at Tebrio?

In our case, we have a multi-disciplinary team of professionals working in a circular model where we use by-products of plant origin for our insects’ food, marketing all the products generated in our facilities, which results in zero waste.

What advantages does our circular economy model have?

This model allows us to reduce water use by almost 90% in comparison with other animal species and we do not need arable land to farm our insects. Therefore, we have a zero carbon footprint, barely any CO2 emissions and no methane or ammonia emissions.

What is our commitment?

Our commitment is to be more efficient in the use of resources to move towards a more sustainable model, both in processes and production, without harming the environment and attempting to re-establish global natural balance using sustainable insect-based industrial solutions.

TENEBRIO MOLITOR. WHAT IS IT, WHAT DOES IT PROVIDE AND WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL?

At Tebrio we offer insect-based solutions and the insect we use is Tenebio molitor. But, what is this insect like and what does it provide?

Tenebrio molitor, commonly known as the yellow mealworm, is an insect that is basically used in its larval phase for applications in food and feed.

What type of insect is Tenebrio molitor?

Tenebrio molitor larva is an insect between 1.6 mm and 35 mm in size, which is used before it turns into a beetle.

They come from Tenebrionidae, which is one of the large families of Coleoptera with approximately 20,000 described species. They are usually dark and with a size between 1-80mm and they are detrivores: they decompose a solid mass into particles.

Where does Tenebrio molitor come from?

Tenebrio molitor larvae are usually found in bags of flour, for which reason they are known as “mealworms”.

This insect is not endemic. This means it can appear anywhere in the world.

What food does this insect eat?

When cereal crops are sown, the main product is wheat grain. But there are also different by-products: on the one hand, there is the ear and, on the other, the straw that bales are made from. This wheat is taken to a flour mill where the grain is separated from the rest.

Bran has a nutritional composition low in proteins, with some carbohydrates, but especially very rich in indigestible fibre. Therefore, this product is suitable for animal intake, but its use is limited.

The gastrointestinal system of Tenebrio molitor is capable of digesting this fibre and turning it into very high quality raw materials.