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Conway A, Jaiswal S, Jaiswal AK. The Potential of Edible Insects as a Safe, Palatable, and Sustainable Food Source in the European Union. Foods 2024; 13:387. [PMID: 38338521 PMCID: PMC10855650 DOI: 10.3390/foods13030387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Entomophagy describes the practice of eating insects. Insects are considered extremely nutritious in many countries worldwide. However, there is a lethargic uptake of this practice in Europe where consuming insects and insect-based foodstuffs is often regarded with disgust. Such perceptions and concerns are often due to a lack of exposure to and availability of food-grade insects as a food source and are often driven by neophobia and cultural norms. In recent years, due to accelerating climate change, an urgency to develop alternate safe and sustainable food-sources has emerged. There are currently over 2000 species of insects approved by the World Health Organization as safe to eat and suitable for human consumption. This review article provides an updated overview of the potential of edible insects as a safe, palatable, and sustainable food source. Furthermore, legislation, food safety issues, and the nutritional composition of invertebrates including, but not limited, to crickets (Orthoptera) and mealworms (Coleoptera) are also explored within this review. This article also discusses insect farming methods and the potential upscaling of the industry with regard to future prospects for insects as a sustainable food source. Finally, the topics addressed in this article are areas of potential concern to current and future consumers of edible insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Conway
- School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Faculty of Sciences and Health, Technological University Dublin—City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 ADY7, Ireland; (A.C.); (S.J.)
- Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute, Technological University Dublin—City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 H6K8, Ireland
| | - Swarna Jaiswal
- School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Faculty of Sciences and Health, Technological University Dublin—City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 ADY7, Ireland; (A.C.); (S.J.)
- Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute, Technological University Dublin—City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 H6K8, Ireland
| | - Amit K. Jaiswal
- School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Faculty of Sciences and Health, Technological University Dublin—City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 ADY7, Ireland; (A.C.); (S.J.)
- Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute, Technological University Dublin—City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 H6K8, Ireland
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She W, Xiao Q, Meng Y, Zhao P, Wu C, Huang F, Cai M, Zhang J, Yu Z, Ur Rehman K, Peng D, Zheng L. Isolated and identified pathogenic bacteria from black soldier fly larvae with "soft rot" reared in mass production facilities and its incidence characteristics. WASTE MANAGEMENT (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2023; 163:85-95. [PMID: 37003117 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can transform organic waste into high-end proteins, lipids, chitin, biodiesel, and melanin at an industrial scale. But scaling up of its production capacity has also posed health risks to the insect itself. In this investigation, larval "soft rot" which is occurring in mass production facilities that cause larval developmental inhibition and a certain degree of death was reported. Responsible pathogen GX6 was isolated from BSFL with "soft rot" and identified to be Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus. No obvious impact on larval growth was observed when treated with GX6 spores, whereas mortality of 6-day-old BSFL increased up to 29.33% ± 2.05% when GX6 vegetative cells (1 × 106 cfu/g) were inoculated into the medium. Moreover, higher temperature further enhanced the BSFL mortality and suppressed larval development, but increasing substrate moisture showed the opposite effect. The middle intestine of infected larvae became swollen and transparent after dissection and examination. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation indicated that GX6 had destroyed the peritrophic matrix and intestinal microvilli and damaged epithelial cells of larval gut. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis of intestinal samples revealed that gut microflora composition was significantly altered by GX6 infection as well. It can be noticed that Dysgonomonas, Morganella, Myroides, and Providencia bacteria became more numerous in the intestines of GX6-infected BSFL as compared to controls. This study will lay foundations for efficient control of "soft rot" and promote healthy development of the BSFL industry to contribute to organic waste management and circular economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wangjun She
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Qi Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Ying Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Peng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Chuanliang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Feng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Minmin Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Jibin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Ziniu Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Kashif Ur Rehman
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan; DIL Deutsches Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik e. V. - German Institute of Food Technologies, Quakenbrück, Germany; Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi, Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Donghai Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Longyu Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Center of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, PR China.
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Duffield KR, Foquet B, Stasko JA, Hunt J, Sadd BM, Sakaluk SK, Ramirez JL. Induction of Multiple Immune Signaling Pathways in Gryllodes sigillatus Crickets during Overt Viral Infections. Viruses 2022; 14:v14122712. [PMID: 36560716 PMCID: PMC9786821 DOI: 10.3390/v14122712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite decades of focus on crickets (family: Gryllidae) as a popular commodity and model organism, we still know very little about their immune responses to microbial pathogens. Previous studies have measured downstream immune effects (e.g., encapsulation response, circulating hemocytes) following an immune challenge in crickets, but almost none have identified and quantified the expression of immune genes during an active pathogenic infection. Furthermore, the prevalence of covert (i.e., asymptomatic) infections within insect populations is becoming increasingly apparent, yet we do not fully understand the mechanisms that maintain low viral loads. In the present study, we measured the expression of several genes across multiple immune pathways in Gryllodes sigillatus crickets with an overt or covert infection of cricket iridovirus (CrIV). Crickets with overt infections had higher relative expression of key pathway component genes across the Toll, Imd, Jak/STAT, and RNAi pathways. These results suggests that crickets can tolerate low viral infections but can mount a robust immune response during an overt CrIV infection. Moreover, this study provides insight into the immune strategy of crickets following viral infection and will aid future studies looking to quantify immune investment and improve resistance to pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin R. Duffield
- National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Crop BioProtection Research Unit, USDA-ARS, 1815 N. University St., Peoria, IL 61604, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Bert Foquet
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - Judith A. Stasko
- Microscopy Services Laboratory, National Animal Disease Center, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA 50010, USA
| | - John Hunt
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia
| | - Ben M. Sadd
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - Scott K. Sakaluk
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - José L. Ramirez
- National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Crop BioProtection Research Unit, USDA-ARS, 1815 N. University St., Peoria, IL 61604, USA
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