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Insects
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Sustainable Insect Chains
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Sustainable Insect Chains

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Role of Insects in Human Society".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 26916

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sergiy Smetana

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
DIL Deutsches Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik e. V., German Institute of Food Technologies, Prof.-von-Klitzing-Str. 7, D-49610 Quakenbrück, Germany
Interests: insect production; insects for food and feed; life-cycle assessment; sustainability of insect cultivation; modeling of insect production
Dr. Birgit Rumpold

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Education for Sustainable Nutrition and Food Science, Technical University Berlin, Marchstr. 23, D-10585 Berlin, Germany
Interests: edible insects as an alternative source of protein in food and feed; consumer acceptance and research; education for sustainable nutrition and food science; didactics of nutrition/food science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food and feed supply are dramatically affected by an increase in human population. Major concerns are connected with sustainable supplies of proteins and fats. Shortages and risks of protein supply for animal feed are triggering the search of local sustainable sources. At the same time, the food industry is experiencing a lack of sustainable functional lipids as substitutes for palm oil and fat. The mass production of insects for food and feed purposes has been growing in the Western world a couple of decades now, their commercialization and industrial upscaling faces numerous challenges. This Special Issue of Insects will focus on breakthroughs and forefront achievements associated with sustainable insect production chains, connected (but not limited) to safety, standardization, technological progress, marketing and economic feasibility, environmental impact, and social acceptance.

Dr. Sergiy Smetana
Dr. Birgit Rumpold
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

  • sustainable
  • insect production
  • processing
  • safety
  • industrial scale
  • upscaling

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 2765 KiB  
Article
Systematic Studies on the Antioxidant Capacity and Volatile Compound Profile of Yellow Mealworm Larvae (T. molitor L.) under Different Drying Regimes
by Claudia Keil, Sandra Grebenteuch, Nina Kröncke, Fenja Kulow, Sebastian Pfeif, Clemens Kanzler, Sascha Rohn, Georg Boeck, Rainer Benning and Hajo Haase
Insects 2022, 13(2), 166; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects13020166 - 03 Feb 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2748
Abstract
The yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L., Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is an edible insect and due to its ubiquitous occurrence and the frequency of consumption, a promising candidate for the cultivation and production on an industrial scale. Moreover, it is the first insect to [...] Read more.
The yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L., Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is an edible insect and due to its ubiquitous occurrence and the frequency of consumption, a promising candidate for the cultivation and production on an industrial scale. Moreover, it is the first insect to be approved by EFSA 2021 following the Novel Food Regulation. Industrial production of mealworms necessitates optimized processing techniques, where drying as the first postharvest procedure is of utmost importance for the quality of the final product. The focus of the present study was to analyse the chemical composition, antioxidant capacity, volatile compound profile and colouring of mealworm larvae dried in various regimes (freeze-drying, microwave drying, infrared drying, rack-oven drying and high-frequency drying). Proximate composition and fatty acid profile were similar for all dried larvae. Freeze dried larvae were predominantly marked by lipid oxidation with significantly higher peroxide values, secondary/tertiary oxidation products in the headspace GC-MS profiles and lower antioxidant capacity. High-temperature treatment in the rack oven—and to some extent also infrared or microwave drying—led to mealworm larvae darkening and the appearance of volatile Maillard secondary products such as 2-methylpropanoic acid, 2-/3-methylbutanoic acid and alkylpyrazines. High-frequency drying as a new emerging technology in insect processing was the most cost-effective method with energy costs of solely 0.09 Є/kg T. molitor L. leading to final larval material characterized by both lipid oxidation and nonenzymatic Maillard-browning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Insect Chains)
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15 pages, 1053 KiB  
Article
Impact of Heat Treatment on the Microbiological Quality of Frass Originating from Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens)
by Noor Van Looveren, Dries Vandeweyer and Leen Van Campenhout
Insects 2022, 13(1), 22; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects13010022 - 24 Dec 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4777
Abstract
Since black soldier fly larvae (BSFL, Hermetia illucens) are being produced at substantial volumes, concomitantly large amounts of the resulting by-product, called frass, are generated. This frass can potentially be applied as valuable plant fertilizer or soil improver. Since frass carries high [...] Read more.
Since black soldier fly larvae (BSFL, Hermetia illucens) are being produced at substantial volumes, concomitantly large amounts of the resulting by-product, called frass, are generated. This frass can potentially be applied as valuable plant fertilizer or soil improver. Since frass carries high microbial counts, potentially including foodborne pathogens, safety problems for consumers should be prevented. A heat treatment of 70 °C for 60 min is proposed to reduce harmful organisms in insect frass, based on EU regulations ((EU) No. 2021/1925). This study evaluated for the first time the impact of the proposed heat treatment on BSFL frass. This was done by applying the treatment on uninoculated frass as well as on frass inoculated with Salmonella or Clostridium perfringens at 5.0 log cfu/g. The heat treatment resulted in a reduction (maximum one log-cycle) of total viable counts and did not noticeably reduce bacterial endospores. In contrast, Enterobacteriaceae counts were reduced to below the detection limit (10 cfu/g). Heat treatment of inoculated frass resulted in absence of Salmonella in 25 g of frass and reduction of vegetative C. perfringens to below the detection limit (1 cfu/g). The proposed heat treatment appears to be appropriate to meet the microbiological regulations for insect frass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Insect Chains)
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15 pages, 1298 KiB  
Article
Potential of Fermentation and Vacuum Packaging Followed by Chilling to Preserve Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens)
by Leen Van Campenhout, Dario Lachi and Dries Vandeweyer
Insects 2021, 12(8), 714; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects12080714 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3459
Abstract
Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) are currently reared at an industrial scale, mainly as a feed ingredient. The logistic chain not only involves the production of larvae, but also stabilisation, storage, and transport. The aim of this work was to [...] Read more.
Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) are currently reared at an industrial scale, mainly as a feed ingredient. The logistic chain not only involves the production of larvae, but also stabilisation, storage, and transport. The aim of this work was to study fermentation and vacuum packaging of larvae as potential preservation technologies. For fermentation, blanched larvae were pulverised into a paste, and a starter culture, NaCl, and glucose were added. The mixture was fermented for 7 days at 35 °C and then stored for 14 days at 4 °C and pH and microbial counts were monitored. Vacuum packaging was applied to living, blanched and frozen larvae. After packaging, they were stored for 6–10 days at several temperatures and gas composition, survival (living larvae) and microbial counts (killed larvae) were recorded. Fermentation allows storage of pulverised larvae, but points to consider are a rapid pH reduction and the presence of bacterial endospores. Vacuum packaging did not bring added value over cooling alone. This was the case for all types of larvae investigated. Vacuum packaging is not considered as a valuable preservation technology to pursue for storage and transport of black soldier fly larvae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Insect Chains)
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Review

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13 pages, 433 KiB  
Review
Edible Insects as Food–Insect Welfare and Ethical Aspects from a Consumer Perspective
by Nora Delvendahl, Birgit A. Rumpold and Nina Langen
Insects 2022, 13(2), 121; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects13020121 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7705
Abstract
A growing number of studies underline consumers’ concerns about the importance of animal welfare as a general concept for consumers’ purchase decisions. In particular, consumers perceive animal husbandry to be one of the most important aspects of animal welfare. Since intensive livestock production [...] Read more.
A growing number of studies underline consumers’ concerns about the importance of animal welfare as a general concept for consumers’ purchase decisions. In particular, consumers perceive animal husbandry to be one of the most important aspects of animal welfare. Since intensive livestock production is criticized across society, the acceptance of current intensive production systems of edible insects is an issue of investigation. Criteria of insect welfare might differ from vertebrate welfare. One might argue that it is difficult to define standards for insect welfare due to their large diversity in living environments and feed requirements. In addition, it is debated whether insects are conscious and suffer from pain. It has been demanded to rear insects preferably under natural living conditions and some researchers proposed to consider them as sentient beings. Basic welfare and ethical aspects of insects as food and feed include species-specific mass rearing conditions and euthanasia, i.e., killing procedures. Consumers’ opinions and concerns regarding this issue have hardly been considered so far. In this paper, the animal welfare of prevalent livestock is defined and outlined, and relevant criteria are transferred to insect welfare. Different ways consumers might arrive at an animal welfare understanding are discussed, along with an overview of the few consumer studies on insect welfare. Furthermore, we consider how insects are presented in the public discourse and infer how this might be relevant to consumers’ perceptions of insect welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Insect Chains)
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Other

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14 pages, 1623 KiB  
Opinion
Overcoming Technical and Market Barriers to Enable Sustainable Large-Scale Production and Consumption of Insect Proteins in Europe: A SUSINCHAIN Perspective
by Teun Veldkamp, Nathan Meijer, Frank Alleweldt, David Deruytter, Leen Van Campenhout, Laura Gasco, Nanna Roos, Sergiy Smetana, Ana Fernandes and H. J. van der Fels-Klerx
Insects 2022, 13(3), 281; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects13030281 - 12 Mar 2022
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7074
Abstract
The expected global population growth to 9.7 billion people in 2050 and the significant change in global dietary patterns require an increase in global food production by about 60%. The protein supply for feed and food is most critical and requires an extension [...] Read more.
The expected global population growth to 9.7 billion people in 2050 and the significant change in global dietary patterns require an increase in global food production by about 60%. The protein supply for feed and food is most critical and requires an extension in protein sources. Edible insects can upgrade low-grade side streams of food production into high-quality protein, amino acids and vitamins in a very efficient way. Insects are considered to be the “missing link” in the food chain of a circular and sustainable economy. Insects and insect-derived products have entered the European market since first being acknowledged as a valuable protein source for feed and food production in around 2010. However, today, scaling up the insect value chain in Europe is progressing at a relatively slow pace. The mission of SUSINCHAIN (SUStainable INsect CHAIN)—a four-year project which has received funding from the European Commission—is to contribute to novel protein provision for feed and food in Europe by overcoming the remaining barriers for increasing the economic viability of the insect value chain and opening markets by combining forces in a comprehensive multi-actor consortium. The overall project objective is to test, pilot and demonstrate recently developed technologies, products and processes, to realize a shift up to Technology Readiness Level 6 or higher. In addition to these crucial activities, the project engages with stakeholders in the insect protein supply chain for feed and food by living labs and workshops. These actions provide the necessary knowledge and data for actors in the insect value chain to decrease the cost price of insect products, process insects more efficiently and market insect protein applications in animal feed and regular human diets that are safe and sustainable. This paves the way for further upscaling and commercialization of the European insect sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Insect Chains)
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