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Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security

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A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2017) | Viewed by 70062

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Kerry Wilkinson

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Guest Editor

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
Interests: grape and wine chemistry; analytical chemistry; sensory analysis; consumer research; viticulture; winemaking
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Heather Bray

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Guest Editor

School of Humanities, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Interests: public understanding of science; sociology of food and eating; agricultural ethics; science communication; social media

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Collectively, climate change, the increasing global population, and scarcity of agricultural land present serious challenges to both food and feed security. As a consequence, there is growing interest in insects as alternate sources of protein. Insects already form part of the traditional diet in many developing countries throughout Africa, South America and Asia, but elsewhere, the consumption of insects is less prevalent and often only occurs as a novelty. This Special Issue will include original research articles and reviews concerning insects as food and feed: From harvesting or farming insects, and the nutritional composition and/or sensory appeal of insects or insect-based foods, to the prevalence of allergies associated with entomophagy, and the economic and environmental benefits of insect utilization.

Assoc. Prof. Kerry Wilkinson
Dr. Heather Bray
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

entomophagy
edible insects
food security
feedstocks
nutrition

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 467 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Australian Consumers’ Awareness and Acceptance of Insects as Food

by Kerry Wilkinson, Beverly Muhlhausler, Crystal Motley, Anna Crump, Heather Bray and Rachel Ankeny

Insects 2018, 9(2), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects9020044 - 19 Apr 2018

Cited by 100 | Viewed by 10587

Abstract

Insects have long been consumed as part of the diets of many Asian, African, and South American cultures. However, despite international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations advocating the nutritional, environmental, and economic benefits of entomophagy, attitudinal barriers persist in Western societies. In Australia, the indigenous ‘bush tucker’ diet comprising witchetty grubs, honey ants, and Bogong moths is quite well known; however, in most Australian locales, the consumption of insects tends to occur only as a novelty. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the awareness and acceptance of insects as food. An online survey of 820 consumers found that 68% of participants had heard of entomophagy, but only 21% had previously eaten insects; witchetty grubs, ants, grasshoppers, and crickets were the most commonly tasted insects. Taste, appearance, safety, and quality were identified as the factors that were most likely to influence consumer willingness to try eating insects, but consumer attitudes towards entomophagy were underpinned by both food neophobia (i.e., reluctance to eat new or novel foods) and prior consumption of insects. Neophobic consumers were far less accepting of entomophagy than neophilic consumers, while consumers who had previously eaten insects were most accepting of insects as food. Incorporating insects into familiar products (e.g., biscuits) or cooked meals also improved their appeal. Collectively, these findings can be used by the food industry to devise production and/or marketing strategies that overcome barriers to insect consumption in Australia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security)

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245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Freeze-Drying and Oven-Drying Post Blanching on the Nutrient Composition of the Edible Insect Ruspolia differens

by Forkwa Tengweh Fombong, Mik Van Der Borght and Jozef Vanden Broeck

Insects 2017, 8(3), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8030102 - 16 Sep 2017

Cited by 79 | Viewed by 9041

Abstract

The longhorn grasshopper, Ruspolia differens (Serville), plays an important role as a food source across Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is consumed as a delicacy in both rural and urban areas. The effect of two drying methods (freeze-drying and oven-drying), employed after blanching, on the proximate, fatty acid and mineral composition of the two most common morphs was determined. Ruspolia differens grasshoppers were harvested in Uganda and Kenya from wild swarms during the rainy periods of November–December 2016. Based on cuticular coloration, we identified three morphs, green, brown and purple, which occurred at a ratio of 65:33:2, respectively. Results indicated that these insects have a high lipid content of 36%, as well as significant protein levels ranging between 33% and 46% dry matter. Oleic acid (44%) and palmitic acid (28%) were the two most abundant fatty acids; while the presence of arachidonic acid (0.6%) and docosahexaenoic acid (0.21%) suggests that Ruspolia differens is also a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The observed amino acid profile showed similar trends in all morphs, and all essential amino acids were present. Calcium (896–1035 mg/100 g), potassium (779–816 mg/100 g) and phosphorus (652–685 mg/100 g) were quite high among the minerals. The presence of the trace elements iron (217–220 mg/100 g), zinc (14.2–14.6 mg/100 g), manganese (7.4–8.3 mg/100 g) and copper (1.66 mg/100 g) suggests that inclusion of these grasshoppers in human diets may aid in combatting micronutrient deficiencies. Oven-drying Ruspolia differens delivered the same nutritional quality as freeze-drying. Hence, both drying approaches can be adequately used to formulate insect-based food products without noticeable nutritional changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security)

1844 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Diet Protein and Carbohydrate on Select Life-History Traits of The Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

by Jonathan A. Cammack and Jeffery K. Tomberlin

Insects 2017, 8(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8020056 - 31 May 2017

Cited by 195 | Viewed by 16530

Abstract

This study examined the impact of diet protein and carbohydrate percentages as well as moisture on the immature development, survivorship, and resulting adult longevity and egg production of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Moisture impacted development and corresponding life-history traits more than protein:carbohydrate content; larvae were unable to develop on diets at 40% moisture. Larvae fed diets at 70% moisture developed faster, grew larger, and required less food than those reared on diets at 55% moisture. Larvae reared on the balanced diet (21% protein:21% carbohydrate) at 70% moisture developed the fastest on the least amount of food and had the greatest survivorship to the prepupal stage. Adult emergence and longevity were similar across treatments, indicating immature life-history traits were impacted the most. The control (Gainesville house fly) diet was superior to the artificial diets for all parameters tested. These differences could indicate that other constituents (e.g., associated microbes) serve a role in black soldier fly development. These data are valuable for industrialization of this insect as a “green” technology for recycling organic waste, which can be highly variable, to produce protein for use as feed in the livestock, poultry, and aquaculture industries, as well as for bioenergy production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security)

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205 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microbiological Load of Edible Insects Found in Belgium

by Rudy Caparros Megido, Sandrine Desmedt, Christophe Blecker, François Béra, Éric Haubruge, Taofic Alabi and Frédéric Francis

Insects 2017, 8(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8010012 - 13 Jan 2017

Cited by 107 | Viewed by 10107

Abstract

Edible insects are gaining more and more attention as a sustainable source of animal protein for food and feed in the future. In Belgium, some insect products can be found on the market, and consumers are sourcing fresh insects from fishing stores or towards traditional markets to find exotic insects that are illegal and not sanitarily controlled. From this perspective, this study aims to characterize the microbial load of edible insects found in Belgium (i.e., fresh mealworms and house crickets from European farms and smoked termites and caterpillars from a traditional Congolese market) and to evaluate the efficiency of different processing methods (blanching for all species and freeze-drying and sterilization for European species) in reducing microorganism counts. All untreated insect samples had a total aerobic count higher than the limit for fresh minced meat (6.7 log cfu/g). Nevertheless, a species-dependent blanching step has led to a reduction of the total aerobic count under this limit, except for one caterpillar species. Freeze-drying and sterilization treatments on European species were also effective in reducing the total aerobic count. Yeast and mold counts for untreated insects were above the Good Manufacturing Practice limits for raw meat, but all treatments attained a reduction of these microorganisms under this limit. These results confirmed that fresh insects, but also smoked insects from non-European trades, need a cooking step (at least composed of a first blanching step) before consumption. Therefore, blanching timing for each studied insect species is proposed and discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security)

Review

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495 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Aquatic Insects and their Potential to Contribute to the Diet of the Globally Expanding Human Population

by D. Dudley Williams and Siân S. Williams

Insects 2017, 8(3), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8030072 - 21 Jul 2017

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 9442

Abstract

Of the 30 extant orders of true insect, 12 are considered to be aquatic, or semiaquatic, in either some or all of their life stages. Out of these, six orders contain species engaged in entomophagy, but very few are being harvested effectively, leading to over-exploitation and local extinction. Examples of existing practices are given, ranging from the extremes of including insects (e.g., dipterans) in the dietary cores of many indigenous peoples to consumption of selected insects, by a wealthy few, as novelty food (e.g., caddisflies). The comparative nutritional worth of aquatic insects to the human diet and to domestic animal feed is examined. Questions are raised as to whether natural populations of aquatic insects can yield sufficient biomass to be of practicable and sustained use, whether some species can be brought into high-yield cultivation, and what are the requirements and limitations involved in achieving this? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security)

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3492 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review

by Charlotte L. R. Payne and Joost Van Itterbeeck

Insects 2017, 8(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8010024 - 17 Feb 2017

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 12537

Abstract

Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects—Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security)

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