Nestle’s Purina launches insect-based pet food

If your pet is a picky eater now, wait until it sees what Nestle’s pet food brand Purina has in store: a new line of chow based on insect protein.

The Swiss food giant said Thursday that Purina was launching a line based on “alternative proteins” from insects and plants, “to make better use of the planet’ resources.”

The Beyond Nature’s Protein line of dry food for cats and dogs will first be sold in Switzerland, where it will become available this month, Nestle said in a statement.

Purina veterinarians and nutritionists have developed two separate recipes, with one based on chicken, pig’s liver, and millet, and the second using insect protein, chicken, and fava beans.

“The insect protein comes from black soldier fly larvae, which are already in use in animal feed in Europe,” the statement said.

The new line offers “a complete nutritious alternative to conventional dog and cat products, while taking care of the planet’s precious resources by diversifying the protein sources,” Purina chief Bernard Meunier said in the statement.

As for how pets will react to the new bug-infused dishes, Nestle said Purina would be surveying consumers for feedback. – Rappler.com