Carrie Hartford is the Director of Business Development and Senior Project Engineer in Jenike & Johanson’s office in California. For nearly 2 decades, she has been solving challenging bulk material flow related problems around the world. Typical projects include the analysis and design of bins, hoppers, feeders, and transfer chutes. Previously, she opened and established an engineering office and laboratory facilities in Perth, Western Australia. Internationally she publishes and presents technical papers, participates in conferences, and presents numerous short courses in the field of bulk solids flow. Carrie has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an MBA from Azusa Pacific University in California. She is a licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of California.
Tim Porco is the the President of Erie Technical Systems Inc. He oversees the company's day-to-day operations, ensuring top-notch solutions for customer needs. He holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University and is an active member of the Flexible Intermediate Bulk Filling Association (FIBCA). With an extensive background in technical sales, product management, and sales management within the powder solids handling industry, Tim applies his diverse skills to develop economical solutions for clients. Tim is committed to listening carefully to customer requirements and translating them into effective applications of Erie Technical Systems equipment.
Robert brings over 25 years of experience for bulk material handling and material processing equipment to Material Transfer. At MTS, he is responsible to fostering new business opportunities while nurturing account relationships. His depth of experience and industry knowledge allows our Team to meet the growing needs of our customers as we continue to provide the highest quality systems to the marketplace.
David Hyer has led Thayer Scale as President and General Manager since 2016, overseeing all aspects of daily operations and long-term strategic direction. He originally joined the company in 1985 as a college student writing machine-level code for the PI-164 instrument, returning in 2013 after a successful career in senior leadership at Teradyne and two venture-backed technology ventures. Prior to rejoining Thayer Scale, David served as Division Manager for Teradyne’s circuit-board test and inspection business, where he was responsible for P&L and led global sales, engineering, and service teams. His broader background includes senior roles in sales, business development, and product strategy across high-growth technology companies. David brings deep expertise in the design and manufacture of precision conveyor belt scales and gravimetric feeders. Under his leadership, Thayer Scale has strengthened its focus on product specialization, engineering excellence, and rigorous quality, delivering solutions tailored to the demanding needs of the Food, Energy & Building Products, and Chemical & Industrial markets. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University. David and his wife have three children, and he enjoys tennis, golf, and spending time on the water.
Alex McCans is National Sales Manager for HammerTek Corporation, manufacturer of the innovative Smart Elbow Deflection Elbow. With over 10 years of experience in mechanical and pneumatic conveying of bulk solids, Alex leads the HammerTek sales team to solve conveying challenges for customers around the world. His expertise and dedication have helped establish HammerTek as a trusted leader in the industry.
Insect processing is a rapidly evolving industry that’s challenging traditional notions of food, feed, and resource sustainability. Insects, once considered mere pests, have emerged as a potent resource for addressing pressing global issues like food security and environmental sustainability.
Although insects are becoming more accepted as possible protein sources for food and feed, the appearance of insects may be off-putting due to associations of disgust. Edible insects are more likely to be eaten if processed into non-recognizable forms, meaning eliminating the formation of disgust. Thus, insects require the use of commercial processing methods that will render the protein suitable for food formulation while maintaining the safety and nutritional quality of the product.
Standard methods used include lipid extraction, enzymatic proteolysis, thermal processing, low-temperature processing, and dehydration. Each method has advantages and disadvantages that need to be carefully considered as different edible insects require other processing methods.
Insects are part of the human diet in many parts of the world. Currently, most edible insects are harvested from the wild, although indoor farming has increased insect availability and the sustainability of production.
The current food production has a long way to go. Essentially, it needs to double to fulfill the food requirements of the ever-growing population. This effort would require finding environment-friendly and sustainable food production methods and food sources. In this case, edible insects could be a good solution as they satisfy the human need for food and are highly nutritious.
The growth of the edible insects market is mainly attributed to the growing greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock and poultry industries, the nutritional value of insects, the low environmental impact of their entire life cycle, and the low risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases.
Based on insect type, the edible insects market is mainly segmented into the following:
In terms of value, in 2020, the crickets segment accounted for the largest share of the overall edible insects market. The large share of this segment is mainly due to the high nutritional value, easy farming, and easy processing of crickets.
Typical processing methods will include cooking the insects, separating the oil, drying, and milling. The drying phase, in particular, is vital for producing high-quality protein from your insect processing line. If the insects are under-dried, molds or bacteria can occur. At the same time, over-drying can cause scorching and reduce the nutritional value and quality of the protein powder.
The last step in the process is milling or grinding the carefully dried material into the appropriate powder for the intended use. For a protein to be used as an insoluble ingredient product such as protein drink powders, a much finer mill may be required compared to insect ‘flours’ to be used in baking and food recipes.
Grinding insects into powder form or utilizing ingredients derived from insects such as protein, lipids, and chitin is one of the approaches to obtain the nutritional benefits of insect consumption. Some of the perceptions of edible insects are that they may seem disgusting; therefore, it is essential that insects need to incorporate them in a non-recognizable form. This may alleviate the negative perceptions by associating foods containing insect powders with more familiar and comfortable foods.
Insect flours are typically produced by dehydrating or roasting whole insects, then grinding them into a fine powder form called flour. However, the techno-functional properties, e.g., emulsification, foaming, solubility, of the protein present in these flours can be affected due to chitin-protein interactions, thus limiting its applicability to formulate food products.
Approaches for developing insect protein powders that will allow for the chitin separation include the following:
In traditional cultures, insects are processed in several ways (steaming, roasting, smoking, frying, stewing, and curing) to improve their nutritional qualities. To increase the interest of consumers in Western countries, various technologies have been developed to eliminate the disgust of edible insects. Meaning using insects as ingredients in a non-recognizable form, such as powders or flour. These technologies include:
Insect-based ingredients are sold to produce cookies, chocolates, tortilla-style chips, and other snacks.
Although the existing processes in the edible food industry vary depending on the species used and the final product to be developed, most of them can be grouped into a relatively small number of operations with the same basic principles, focusing on similar purposes.