Evaluation of the Microbial Quality of Hermetia illucens Larvae for Animal Feed and Human Consumption: Study of Different Type of Rearing Substrates

In the context of climate change and depletion of natural resources, meeting the growing demand for animal feed and human food through sufficient, nutritious, safe, and affordable sources of protein is becoming a priority. The use of Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly (BSF), has emerged as a strategy to enhance the circularity of the agri-food chain, but its microbiological safety remains a concern. The aim of the present study was to systematically review available data on the microbiological quality of BSF and to investigate the impact of using four different rearing substrates including classic options allowed by the EU regulation (cereals, fruits, vegetables) and options not allowed by EU regulations regarding vegetable agri-food (co-products, food at shelf life, and meat). A total of 13 studies were collected and synthesized, including 910 sample results, while 102 new sample results were collected from the present experiments in three farms. Both datasets combined revealed a high level of contamination of larvae, potentially transmitted through the substrate. The main pathogenic bacteria identified were Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Cronobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus coagulase-positive, while Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected. Any of these four substrates were excluded for their use in insect rearing; however, safety concerns were confirmed and must be managed by the operators of the sector using microbial inactivation treatment after the harvest of the larvae in order to propose safe products for the market. The results obtained will guide the definition of the control criteria and optimize the following manufacturing steps.

Isolation and Identification of Antioxidant Peptides Derived from Cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) Protein Fractions

Crickets contain high protein content that can be used to improve nutrition but are less exploited. This study was conducted to isolate different Cricket Protein Fractions including albumin, globulin, glutelin, and prolamin. All fractions were characterized and hydrolyzed by commercial enzymes. The results showed that the glutelin fractions had the highest extraction yields with 53.9 ± 2.12% (p < 0.05). Moreover, glutelin hydrolysate fraction prepared by Alcalase with a 16.35 ±0.29% hydrolysis degree was selected for further purification because of their high antioxidant activities, including ABTS radical-scavenging activity (0.44-0.55 µmol Trolox eq./g) and metal chelating activity (1721.99-1751.71 µmol EDTA eq./g). Two active fractions, GA-1 (<3 kDa) and GA-2 (<3 kDa), were collected from the consecutive purification of glutelin hydrolysates, which included processes such as membrane ultrafiltration and gel filtration. The fractions were analyzed by LC-MS/MS to obtain 10 peptides with 3-13 amino acids identified as TEAPLNPK, EVGA, KLL, TGNLPGAAHPLLL, AHLLT, LSPLYE, AGVL, VAAV, VAGL, and QLL with a molecular weight range of 359.23-721.37 Da in the two fractions. The amino acid sequence shows a prevalence of hydrophobic amino acids (50-100%) such as valine and leucine in the peptide chains, accounting for its high antioxidant activity. In conclusion, cricket glutelin hydrolysate prepared by Alcalase can serve as an alternative source of potent edible bioactive peptides in functional food products.

Safety of UV-treated powder of whole yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larva) as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on UV-treated powder of whole yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larva) as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The term yellow mealworm refers to the larval form of the insect species T. molitor. The NF is the UV-treated powder of the whole, thermally dried yellow mealworm. The NF consists mainly of crude protein, fat, digestible carbohydrates and fibre (chitin). The Panel notes that the levels of contaminants in the NF highly depend on the occurrence levels of these substances in the insect feed. The Panel notes furthermore that there are no safety concerns regarding the stability of the NF if the NF complies with the proposed specification limits during its entire shelf life. The NF has a high protein content, although the true protein content in the NF is overestimated when using the nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor of 6.25, due to the presence of non-protein nitrogen. The applicant proposed to use the NF as an ingredient in various food products, such as bakery products, pasta, compotes of fruit/vegetables and cheese. The target population is the general population. The Panel notes that considering the composition of the NF, the proposed conditions of use and that the NF will not be the sole source of dietary protein, the consumption of the NF is not nutritionally disadvantageous. Despite the UV treatment, the Panel notes that the NF is not a significant dietary contributor of vitamin D3. The submitted toxicity studies from the literature did not raise safety concerns. The Panel considers that the consumption of the NF may induce primary sensitisation and allergic reactions to yellow mealworm proteins and may cause allergic reactions in subjects with allergies to crustaceans and dust mites. Additionally, allergens from the feed may end up in the NF. With the exception of possible allergenicity, the Panel concludes that the NF is safe under the proposed uses and use levels.

Foodborne Diseases in the Edible Insect Industry in Europe-New Challenges and Old Problems

Insects play a key role in European agroecosystems. Insects provide important ecosystem services and make a significant contribution to the food chain, sustainable agriculture, the farm-to-fork (F2F) strategy, and the European Green Deal. Edible insects are regarded as a sustainable alternative to livestock, but their microbiological safety for consumers has not yet been fully clarified. The aim of this article is to describe the role of edible insects in the F2F approach, to discuss the latest veterinary guidelines concerning consumption of insect-based foods, and to analyze the biological, chemical, and physical hazards associated with edible insect farming and processing. Five groups of biological risk factors, ten groups of chemical risk factors, and thirteen groups of physical risks factors have been identified and divided into sub-groups. The presented risk maps can facilitate identification of potential threats, such as foodborne pathogens in various insect species and insect-based foods. Ensuring safety of insect-based foods, including effective control of foodborne diseases, will be a significant milestone on the path to maintaining a sustainable food chain in line with the F2F strategy and EU policies. Edible insects constitute a new category of farmed animals and a novel link in the food chain, but their production poses the same problems and challenges that are encountered in conventional livestock rearing and meat production.

Quality of Tenebrio molitor Powders: Effects of Four Processes on Microbiological Quality and Physicochemical Factors

Tenebrio molitor, the first edible insect approved as a novel food in the EU, is a promising candidate for alternative protein sources, implementing circular and sustainable production systems. This study aims to determine the microbiological quality and physicochemical properties of mealworm powders obtained by four different processing pathways. Contents of dry matter, protein, fat, ash, water activity (aw) and a range of microbial counts were measured and analyzed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey's test. Results showed small differences in the proximate composition of the powder samples (protein 55.62-57.90% and fat 23.63-28.21% of dry matter, DM), except for the one that underwent a defatting step (protein 70.04% and fat 16.84%), p < 0.05. A level of water activity of less than 0.2 was reached for all pathways. Fresh mealworm samples had high total aerobic counts (8.4 log CFU/g) but were free of foodborne pathogens. Heat treatments applied during transformation were sufficient to kill vegetative cells (reduction of 2.8-5.1 log CFU/g) rather than bacterial endospores (reduction of 0.3-1.8 log CFU/g). Results were confirmed by predictive microbiology. This study validated the efficacy of a boiling step as critical control points (CCPs) of insect powder processing, providing primary data for the implementation of HACCP plans.

Risk–Benefit assessment of foods: Development of a methodological framework for the harmonized selection of nutritional, microbiological, and toxicological components

Investigating the impact of diet on public health using risk–benefit assessment (RBA) methods that simultaneously consider both beneficial and adverse health outcomes could be useful for shaping dietary policies and guidelines. In the field of food safety and nutrition, RBA is a relatively new approach facing methodological challenges and being subject to further developments. One of the methodological aspects calling for improvement is the selection of components to be considered in the assessment, currently based mainly on non-harmonized unstandardized experts’ judgment. Our aim was to develop a harmonized, transparent, and documented methodological framework for selecting nutritional, microbiological, and toxicological RBA components. The approach was developed under the Novel foods as red meat replacers—an insight using Risk-Benefit Assessment methods (NovRBA) case study, which attempted to estimate the overall health impact of replacing red meat with an edible insect species, Acheta domesticus. Starting from the compositional profiles of both food items, we created a “long list” of food components. By subsequently applying a series of predefined criteria, we proceeded from the “long” to the “short list.” These criteria were established based on the occurrence and severity of health outcomes related to these components. For nutrition and microbiology, the occurrence of health outcomes was evaluated considering the presence of a component in the raw material, as well as the effect of processing on the respective component. Regarding toxicology, the presence and exposure relative to reference doses and the contribution to total exposure were considered. Severity was graded with the potential contribution to the background diet alongside bioavailability aspects (nutrition), the disability-adjusted life years per case of illness of each hazard (microbiology), and disease incidence in the population, potential fatality, and lifelong disability (toxicology). To develop the “final list” of components, the “short list” was refined by considering the availability and quality of data for a feasible inclusion in the RBA model. The methodology developed can be broadly used in food RBA, to guide and reinforce a harmonized selection of nutritional, microbiological, and toxicological components and will contribute to facilitating RBA implementation, enabling the generation of transparent, robust, and comparable outcomes.

Control of Biological Hazards in Insect Processing: Application of HACCP Method for Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) Powders

Entomophagy has been part of human diets for a long time in a significant part of the world, but insects are considered to be a novel food everywhere else. It would appear to be a strategic alternative in the future of human diet to face the challenge of ensuring food security for a growing world population, using more environmentally sustainable production systems than those required for the rearing of other animals. Tenebrio molitor, called yellow mealworm, is one of the most interesting insect species in view of mass rearing, and can be processed into a powder that ensures a long shelf life for its use in many potential products. When considering insects as food or feed, it is necessary to guarantee their safety. Therefore, manufacturers must implement a Hazard Analysis Critical Control plan (HACCP), to limit risks for consumers' health. The aim of this case study was to develop a HACCP plan for Tenebrio molitor larvae powders for food in a risk-based approach to support their implementation in industry. Specific purposes were to identify related significant biological hazards and to assess the efficiency of different manufacturing process steps when used as Critical Control Points. Then, combinations of four different processes with four potential uses of powders by consumers in burger, protein shake, baby porridge, and biscuits were analyzed with regard to their safety.