Food Safety Issues Related to Uses of Insects for Feeds and Foods

Abstract

Edible insects are expected to become an important nutrient source for animals and humans in the Western world in the near future. However, before insects can be put on the market, the safety of their use for feed and food is warranted. This literature study was prepared to provide an overview of the actual knowledge of possible food safety hazards, including chemical, microbiological, and allergenic agents and prions, to human and animal health upon the use of insects for food and feed, and to highlight data gaps and suggest the way forward. From the data available, heavy metals of concern are cadmium in black soldier fly and arsenic in yellow mealworm larvae. Investigated mycotoxins do not seem to accumulate. Residues of pesticides, veterinary drugs, and hormones, as well as dioxins and PCBs, are sometimes found in insects. Contamination of insects with pathogens to human health is a consequence of a combination of the substrates used and the farming and processing steps applied. Insects harbor a wide variety of microorganisms, and some human pathogenic bacteria may be present. In addition, insects may harbor and transmit parasites. There is no evidence so far insects may harbor pathogenic viruses or prions, but they may act as vectors. Insects and insect-derived products may have allergenic potential. In this review, evidence on some safety aspects is displayed, and data gaps are identified. Recommendations are given for future research to fill the most relevant data gaps.

Edible Insects Processing: Traditional and Innovative Technologies

“…Despite the high nutritional quality of edible insects, concerns have been raised about the lack of sanitary and quality controls applied in connection with their sale. Insects are typically sold in bulk, a situation that has worried public health officials with responsibility for food safety (Belluco et al, 2013;UN, 2015). Such CRF3-2019-0016 Submitted 1/17/2019, Accepted 5/15/2019 concerns are based on a wide variety of studies that have been conducted on the prevention of food-borne diseases (microbiological, allergenic, and chemical; van der Fels-Klerx, Camenzuli, Belluco, Meijer, & Ricci, 2018).…”

“…Insects are typically sold in bulk, a situation that has worried public health officials with responsibility for food safety (Belluco et al, 2013;UN, 2015). Such CRF3-2019-0016 Submitted 1/17/2019, Accepted 5/15/2019 concerns are based on a wide variety of studies that have been conducted on the prevention of food-borne diseases (microbiological, allergenic, and chemical; van der Fels-Klerx, Camenzuli, Belluco, Meijer, & Ricci, 2018). The lack of hygiene and inadequate processing and storage conditions are viewed as a more significant concern than the quality of the insects themselves, as they are not usually toxic to humans.…”

Approaching Ecological Sustainability in the Emerging Insects-as-Food Industry

“…This links directly with how insect protein enters the human food chain: that is, are insects being mass reared for human food or livestock feed? Thus, insect rearing for livestock feed should largely focus on scenarios where insects can convert something that is potentially toxic or metabolically unavailable for the animals in question into a safe source of protein [32,33]. Finally, as with traditional livestock rearing, how the ecology and biology of the animals interact with facility design and management will play a role in the well-being and potentially the efficiency of feed conversion of the animals.…”

“…Some sort of empirical measure of ecological impact and sustainability of production is critical if we want to compare resource consumption: (i) between different insect production systems; (ii) to the current gains and losses being made in traditional livestock rearing; and (iii) to the concepts of planetary boundaries and six key measures of sustainability (climate change, biosphere integrity, biochemical flows, freshwater use, land-system change, and human and livestock health) [35,36]. LCAs are central in this regard and have only recently been applied to insect rearing systems [28,29,32,33]. These LCAs are not only starting to highlight where the main issues for sustainability lie (e.g., economics and environmental consequences of alternative feed sources, and potential issues with waste disposal [37]), but also where research is needed to close the large knowledge gaps that exist within these assessments (e.g., the lack of in situ feed conversion data for different husbandry systems [28]).…”

“…The first uses insects to convert agricultural or industry by-products into human or livestock food. Insects have the potential to metabolise unwanted compounds (e.g., toxins) or utilise materials such as manure and lignin that are metabolically unavailable to most vertebrates [32,33,46]. Here, the efficiency focus is not simply feed conversion and growth, but also the sustainability gains made by utilising materials that would otherwise be wasted or require processing.…”