Larvae of mealworm (<i>Tenebrio molitor</i> L.) as European novel food

Abstract

For centuries, insects have been used as food due to their availability and easiness in raising that is much less burdensome for environment than animal husbandry breeding. Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) is a store-pest of which larvae are consumed by people. The aim of the work was to determine the nutritional value of larvae of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.). The material was a three-month-old mealworm larva 25 -30 mm in length. Larvae were boiled for 3 min and next dried in 60˚C. Contents of water, ash, minerals, protein, fat and fat acids profile have been determined. Fresh larvae contained 56% of water, 18% of total protein, 22% of total fat and 1.55% of ash. High contents of minerals were found in the larvae: magnesium (87.5 mg/100g), zinc (4.2 mg/100g), iron (3.8 mg/100g), copper (0.78 mg/100g) and manganese (0.44 mg/100g). The proportion of n-6/n-3 fatty acids was very advantageous and amounted to 6.76. Larvae powder contained twice higher content of protein, fat, ash and minerals. Larva of mealworm is a valuable source of nutrients in amounts more profitable for human organism than traditional meat food. Powdered larva is a high-grade product to be applied as a supplement to traditional meals.

Mealworms for Food: A Water Footprint Perspective

“…The interest in insects comes from their very high efficiency in transforming phytomass into protein-rich animal biomass, their high fecundity, their very fast growth rates, and also their ability to absorb all the water they need from just their food [37,38,41]. It has also been reported that mealworms do not need any additional drinking water if they are farmed in appropriate humidity conditions and provided with carrots and the appropriate ratio of bran/grains [42].…”

“…This result, divided by the output of livestock production amounted to 83.2 t of mealworms as extracted from Oonincx and de Boer [22] and shown in Table 1, gives rise to the water footprint for the production of mealworms, which is equal to 4341 m 3 /t, as indicated in Table 4. If we compare the average total annual water footprint per animal (WFfeed + WFdrink + WFserv) of different animal categories (Table 5), we find that beef cattle have the largest (631 m [38]. ** Calculated as the average time in which Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio reach adulthood based on Oonincx and de Boer data [22].…”

Subcutaneous Canthariasis due to Tenebrio Molitor Larva (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) In Egretta Intermedia

“…Now a day, it is studied as a potential human novel-food. 13 The worm not only eats stored food, but also contaminates it with exuviates excrements and dead insects. T. Molitor L. is omnivorous and originates generally from damp, dark places where cereals may be decaying.…”

Co2 Effects on Larval Development and Genetics of Mealworm Beetle, Tenebrio Molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Two Different Co2 Systems

“…The larvae samples were placed in 40 × 28 × 24 cm plastic aquariums and fed with oats and cucumbers as a food source during the rearing process (Siemianowska et al, 2013). Some parameters, including temperature, humidity, and CO 2 concentration were recorded.…”