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There is an urgent need for alternative protein sources due to the rapid population growth, climate change, environmental degradation by pollution, food-fuel competition and the reduction in arable land for agricultural use. Conventional livestock production is also deleterious to the environment due to the production of greenhouse gasses and ammonia. This article provides insights into the potentials of edibleinsects as novel food ingredients. The manuscript provides concise explanations for the need of embracing additional protein sources, edibleinsects consumption and their nutritional benefits and environmental and economic advantages of using edibleinsects as food. Literature was gathered through an online search on the Science Direct database and Google Scholar, relevant papers published between January 2002 and November 2020 were cited. Edibleinsects are good source of essential nutrients. They are rich in proteins and essential amino acids, contain good quality lipids and significant amounts of important minerals. They are potential source of proteins for humans and animals. They can play an important role in global food security by providing essential nutrients to the increasing global population. This can only be achieved when more attention is given to their production and processing. Creating awareness among new consumers on their nutritional and environmental benefits and the development of food products with appealing sensory properties will surely improve their acceptance as food.

Abstract. Heavy metal (HM) food contamination is detrimental to food safety and human health. Water scarcity, food shortage, illiteracy, failure to enforce environmental protection laws, and food quality regulations account for human HM contamination. Understanding their uptake pattern in food crops and how the crops behave under excessive concentration of these hazardous chemicals will guide farmers, researchers, and policymakers in devising appropriate control measures that will ensure the production and consumption of safer food crops. Relevant texts published by Science Direct, Springer Nature, and Wiley between January 2018 and December 2020 were cited in this article. The article discussed major factors affecting HM accumulation and the effects of HM stress on yield, physiology, and chemical properties of food crops. Wastewater irrigation, production in contaminated soil, and atmospheric deposit contributed to the contamination. Factors that influence HM uptake are those related to soil and irrigation water qualities and plant properties. The presence of other HMs and chemicals, growing season, crop age, planting method, and food crop type also affect HM uptake in food crops. HM stress affects anatomy, physiology including antioxidant defense mechanisms, nutrient availability and uptake, germination, seedlings development, growth, yield, leaf geometry, root and shoot length, plant genetics, pollination, and chemical composition including moisture content, soluble protein, and pigment content and characteristics.

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Eating of road side ready-to-eat (RTE) salads that is made with green leafy vegetables (GLVs) commonly lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) or Cress (Lepidium sativum Linn.) as the key constituents coupled with adding tomatoes, sliced onions, cucumber, groundnut cake and so on has been reported to cause severe safety threats owing to its being extremely disposed to microbiologically inclined contamination, thereby leading to a public health issue. Pathogenic microorganisms pollute salads as a result of mishandling of raw vegetables, during preparation of salads and also associated environment. Soils typically harbor abundant microorganisms, some of which are human pathogens such as B. cereus, Clostridium botulinum, C. perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes and Aeromonas. Birds are carriers of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Campylobacter. Reptiles and arthropods are usually in cultivation fields, and therefore have unrestricted access to produce and many bacterial species have evolved to exploit these animals as hosts or vectors. Insect deterioration creates openings that aid the ingress of pathogens into inner plant tissues, thereby enhancing colonization of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria on produce. Not only animals, similarly people working with the vegetables produce are known to be a source and direct contact vector of microorganisms. Hence this type of food is regarded as potential vehicles of food borne illnesses resulting in large and serious national and international outbreaks. Thus, the essence of this study is to review the safety of the RTE vegetable salads, assessing the contamination level of the most prevalent pathogenic microorganisms. RTE salads can be contaminated with different types of foodborne pathogens from farm-to-fork that makes them unsafe for human consumption. Regulatory bodies should design periodic workshop training for RTE food hawkers to help fix the problems and enhance the effectiveness of RTE vegetables salads preparation. Public awareness on the serious health risk associated with mishandled or poorly prepared minimally processed RTE foods most especially vegetable salads should be considered.