Edible insects unlikely to contribute to transmission of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

In the context of food safety, edible insects are evaluated for biological hazards such as microbial pathogens according to regulations currently in place. When the European Food Safety Authority evaluated the hazards of edible insects as a potential source of pathogenic viruses for humans and livestock, the novel zoonotic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 had not yet emerged but other pathogenic coronaviruses such as SARS (SARS-CoV) and MERS (MERS-CoV) were known. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, animal sources of protein for human consumption are being evaluated for the risks of being a transmission vector of coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV-2. Insects lack a receptor that can bind SARS-CoV-2, thus preventing the virus from replicating in insects, unlike some vertebrate livestock species and companion animals. Despite extensive monitoring, coronaviruses have never been recorded in insect microbiomes. Contamination of insects produced for food or feed may occur during the production process, resulting from rearing substrate or from insect farmers. However, the currently permitted rearing substrates do not include animal products and the farming process is highly automated, thus limiting interactions between farmers and insects. If contamination would still occur, the fact that the insects in production are not hosts to SARS-CoV-2 precludes virus replication and the further processing of the insects will destroy the contamination. We conclude that the hazard of edible insects being a transmission vector of SARS-CoV-2 is extremely low.

Infectious Diseases and Meat Production

“…Eating insects, for instance in the form of flour made from crickets or otherwise, may also be promising (van Huis 2019 ). Insects, which are evolutionary so distant from humans, should not pose great zoonotic risks (Dicke et al 2020 ), although this is a controversial and under-researched issue (Galęcki and Sokół 2019 ). Moreover, farming and eating insects may avoid raising strong animal welfare issues, and the emission of pollution from insects is relatively low (Kim et al 2020 ).…”

The role of airborne particles and environmental considerations in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2

“…Therefore, feeding domestic insects and beetles with feces may play an important role in disease spread by mechanical transmission of virus. Insects lack a receptor that can bind SARS-CoV-2, thus preventing the virus from replicating in insects ( Dicke et al, 2020 ). However, if the domestic waste and sewage are not treated properly, the risk of mechanical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by insects may be increased ( Dehghani and Kassiri, 2020 ).…”

COVID-19 Pandemic Is a Call to Search for Alternative Protein Sources as Food and Feed: A Review of Possibilities

“…Due to the evolutionary distance from mammals, including humans, some authors argue that insects do not pose a high zoonotic risk, contrary to livestock farming or the wild meat trade. Although insects do not have any relevant contribution to SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and there is no evidence of such a phenomenon in relation to other coronaviruses [ 57 ], recent analysis has clearly shown that these insects are a reservoir of a high diversity of RNA viruses, the majority of which are yet to be explored in terms of the potential risk to human health [ 58 ]. Additionally, the production facilities with high insect densities create a risk of rapid transmission of bacteria (e.g., Enterobacteriaceae) and parasites (e.g., Dicrocoelium dendriticum, Gongylonema pulchrum ), which are also of concern for human health [ 59 , 60 , 61 ].…”