Entomophagy and Public Health: A Review of Microbiological Hazards

Abstract

The world population's constant increase and the continuous need to ensure food safety and security are among the major challenges to be faced in the next 30 years. In addition, human diet is evolving with a decreased inclusion of proteins from animal sources. In this context, consumption of insects by humans (entomophagy) could be an alternative solution to the intake of protein derived from conventional livestock, due to the lower environmental impact of insect rearing compared to traditional farming. Furthermore, various insect species have promising nutritional profiles regarding both macro and micronutrients. Nowadays, it is recognized that about 2 billion people consume insects at a worldwide scale, with more than 2000 different species to have been reported. Since the beginning of the 2000s, mass rearing of insects for human consumption has been developing all over the world. Nevertheless edible insects are foodstuffs of animal origin and are usually consumed in their entirety, including the digestive tract, meaning that they may contain biological agents with hazardous potential (e.g. bacteria, parasites, viruses, prions, yeasts, molds, mycotoxins, histamine, and antibiotic resistance genes) and they must undergo a thorough analysis. Therefore, establishing the synthesis of the current knowledge on entomophagy and the related biological hazards is the main purpose of this review.

Control of Biological Hazards in Insect Processing: Application of HACCP Method for Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) Powders

“…Finally, a "long list" of potential microbiological hazards in edible insects was established, based on previous studies [30,[32][33][34] (Table 3). This long list was then analyzed to identify the ones that have to be controlled (i.e., eliminated or sufficiently reduced) to ensure the safety of the product.…”

“…Table 3. List of reasonably expected biological (or from biological origin) hazards, their reservoir, and general persistence (product, process) (from References [30,[32][33][34]…”

“…S. aureus is sensitive to heat treatment, but processed (i.e., boiled and salted) edible insects are favorable for the growth of this species, as it is halophilic and has the ability to dominate in the absence of competition [28]. Physicochemical properties of mealworm powders are compatible with the survival or growth of S. aureus, since it is resistant to low water activity [34]. Given its abundance in the microflora of numerous edible insects and insect-based foods and the ability to produce heat-resistant enterotoxins, it is necessary to take some control measures to prevent the contamination and growth of S. aureus.…”

“…For example, probably because of the species barrier, entomopathogenic microorganisms belong to very different phyla from human foodborne pathogens [ 5 , 18 , 30 , 31 ]. More recently, the microbiological safety of edible insects has been of concern in literature reviews and agencies’ opinions [ 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. It appears from these reviews that prions are not a relevant hazard for edible insects.…”

Biological contaminants in insects as food and feed

“…Finally, a review article by Kooh et al (2019) described the biological health risks associated with entomophagy. Pathogens reported by this study associated with the mentioned main five insect species are also included in Table 2.…”