Safety of Novel Protein Sources (Insects, Microalgae, Seaweed, Duckweed, and Rapeseed) and Legislative Aspects for Their Application in Food and Feed Production

Abstract

Novel protein sources (like insects, algae, duckweed, and rapeseed) are expected to enter the European feed and food market as replacers for animal-derived proteins. However, food safety aspects of these novel protein sources are not well-known. The aim of this article is to review the state of the art on the safety of major novel protein sources for feed and food production, in particular insects, algae (microalgae and seaweed), duckweed, and rapeseed. Potential hazards for these protein sources are described and EU legislative requirements as regard to food and feed safety are explained. Potential hazards may include a range of contaminants, like heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, as well as pathogens. Some safety aspects of novel protein sources are intrinsic to the product, but many potential hazards can also be due to production methods and processing conditions. These aspects should be considered in advance during product development. European law is unclear on several issues regarding the use of novel protein sources in food and feed products. For food product applications, the most important question for food producers is whether or not the product is considered a novel food. One of the major unclarities for feed applications is whether or not products with insects are considered animal-derived products or not. Due to the unclarities in European law, it is not always clear which Regulation and maximum levels for contaminants apply. For market introduction, European legislation should be adjusted and clarified.

Efficacy of insect larval meal to replace fish meal in juvenile barramundi, Lates calcarifer reared in freshwater

“…However, the price of soybean Values are average from duplicate groups of samples a Diets represent; control (without black soldier fly larval meal inclusion), BSFL25 (25%), BSFL50 (50%), BSFL75 (75%) and BSFL100 (100% fish meal replacement using black soldier fly larval meal) meal and other plant feedstuff has also increased dramatically due to their growing demand for the direct human consumption (FAO 2009). Therefore, attention could be directed towards the locally available and cheaper protein source, which may create flexibility in diet formulations and insect meal has been identified as one such ingredient (Rumpold and Schlüter 2013;Van der Spiegel et al 2013;Van Huis 2013;Lock et al 2015). Black soldier fly was early been recognized as the potential candidate ingredient due to its rich nutritional profile comprised of 40% protein and 35% lipid (Bondari and Sheppard 1987).…”

The big bug: The legitimation of the edible insect sector in the Netherlands

“…The exception is aquaculture; in October 2013 the EU allowed the use of non-ruminant proteins as feed for farmed fish (Van der Spiegel et al, 2013). However, strict slaughterhouse requirements that were not written with insect breeding in mind have hindered the development of this market.…”

“…The limits to human and livestock consumption involve safety issues, the main concerns being heavy metals, toxic chemicals, allergens, and pathogens (Van Huis, 2015;Van der Spiegel et al, 2013). However, recent research of fly larvae in animal feed indicated that "with appropriate quality assurance mechanisms and testing regimes in place to monitor chemicals in the larvae then we can conclude that it is feasible to produce fly larvae that are free from chemicals of concern to the animal feed sector" (Charlton et al, 2015, p. 15).…”

“…Some researchers question the appropriateness of categorizing insects as novel foods as well as their safety risk to consumers (De-Magistris et al, 2015). Van der Spiegel et al (2013) indicate that there is lack of clarity regarding legislation on insects. For example, issues such as feed/substrates (EC 767/2009(EC 767/ , 1069(EC 767/ /2009(EC 767/ , 142/2011, products of animal origin (EC 852/2004(EC 852/ , 853/2004, and feed for pigs and poultry (EC 999/2001;1069/2009, 142/2011 are not clearly addressed (Van der Spiegel et al, 2013, p. 674).…”

Legal and environmental aspects of authorizing edible insects in the European Union

“…However, so far, little attention has been paid to the legal aspects of introducing edible insects. The existing studies on legal aspects of food security refer to the old EU legislation on the so-called novel foods, but they do not reflect its updated wording adopted in late 2015 (Belluco 2013;Rumpold 2013;van der Spiegel 2013). Food security has been addressed particularly with respect to developing countries ( Jeníček and Grófová 2015a, b).…”