Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal as an Innovative Protein Source in Poultry Feed

Abstract

Abstract

The development of the best composition of animal feed is very important to improve the productivity of livestock. But the search for nutritionally superior and sustainable dietary alternatives still represents a major challenge in animal production systems. This review critically discusses the nutritional value of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal as an alternative to soybean meal (SBM) in poultry nutrition with special emphasis on broiler and layer chickens. Synthesis of evidence from the available literature indicates that partial or complete replacement of SBM with BSFL meal leads to favourable outcomes in growth performance, meat quality and carcass characteristics in both broiler and layer chickens. Results indicate the potential of BSFL meal as a sustainable and high-value protein source to improve overall productivity of poultry. However, the literature is still scarce and further controlled studies are necessary to evaluate the dose-dependent effects, long-term effects and economic sustainability of BSFL meal inclusion in commercial poultry diets. Therefore, this review provides a consolidated reference for the nutritional profile of BSFL meal and its prospective role as a functional feed ingredient in modern poultry production systems.