A Miaoli County-based agricultural research agency has created a technique for making canned cat food from silkworm pupae, which helps prevent the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria and reportedly eliminates the smell of cat feces.
The Council of Agriculture’s Miaoli District Agricultural Research and Extension Station unveiled the results at a news conference on Wednesday, citing a report by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research that there were about 1 million pet cats in the nation last year.
Taiwan’s first canned cat food made from silkworm pupae was developed using domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, which has an innate immune system that produces antimicrobial peptides — a group of immune proteins that protect the host from infection — during the cocoon phase, station director Lu Hsiu-ying (呂秀英) said.
Photo: CNA
Silkworm pupae are a good source of protein because they contain crude protein, crude lipids, carbohydrates and chitin, she said, adding that they also have high levels of essential amino acids and are rich in omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid.
More than 70 percent of cat owners said they would consider feeding their pet the silkworm pupae, the agricultural research station said, citing a survey of cat owners.
Some owners in trials reported that after eating the new cat food their pet’s feces was less smelly, their fur more luxuriant and they had a bigger appetite, the station said.
The method for making the cat food has been transferred to a biotechnology company for mass production, it said.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS