The European Food Safety Authority scientific opinion on a risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed

The increased attention to the use of farmed insects as a novel protein source has raised the question of the safety of insects as human food and as animal feed. This was the background for the European Union (EU) Commission to mandate the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to conduct a review of the current knowledge about biological, chemical and environmental risks associated with production and consumption of insects. National authorities in some EU member states (Belgium, the Netherlands and France) have conducted national assessments (ANSES, 2015; FASFC, 2014; NVWA, 2014). However, in the EU, existing regulations constitute legal barriers for marketing insects for human consumption and as protein in animal feed for food producing animals

Protecting the environment through insect farming as a means to produce protein for use as livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed

Securing protein for the approximate 10 billion humans expected to inhabit our planet by 2050 is a major priority for the global community. Evidence has accrued over the past 30 years that strongly supports and justifies the sustainable use of insects as a means to produce protein products as feed for pets, livestock, poultry, and aquacultured species. Researchers and entrepreneurs affiliated with universities and industries, respectively, from 18 nations distributed across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia contributed to the development of this article, which is an indication of the global interest on this topic. A brief overview of insects as feed for the aquaculture industry along with a review of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), as a model for such systems is provided

Fighting post-COVID and ME/CFS - development of curative therapies

The sequela of COVID-19 include a broad spectrum of symptoms that fall under the umbrella term post-COVID-19 condition or syndrome (PCS). Immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, endothelial dysfunction, viral persistence, and viral reactivation have been identified as potential mechanisms. However, there is heterogeneity in expression of biomarkers, and it is unknown yet whether these distinguish different clinical subgroups of PCS. There is an overlap of symptoms and pathomechanisms of PCS with postinfectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). No curative therapies are available for ME/CFS or PCS. The mechanisms identified so far provide targets for therapeutic interventions. To accelerate the development of therapies, we propose evaluating drugs targeting different mechanisms in clinical trial networks using harmonized diagnostic and outcome criteria and subgrouping patients based on a thorough clinical profiling including a comprehensive diagnostic and biomarker phenotyping

Nutritional value of insects and ways to manipulate their composition

This article reports on the nutrients present in insects and factors affecting their variability. Data on protein content and amino acid profiles of a variety of insect species are discussed and their amino acid profiles compared to nutrient requirements of growing broiler chicks, catfish, trout, swine, and human adults and young children. Both in vitro and in vivo protein digestibility data for a variety of insect species is presented and factors affecting these data are discussed. Furthermore, the fat content and fatty acid profiles of a variety of insect species is reviewed, with special attention on omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Information on carbohydrates, fibre and chitin in insects is shown along with potential effects on nutrient availability. This is followed by a discussion of essential minerals in insects with an emphasis on calcium and phosphorus. Data on insect vitamin content is shown along with a discussion of antinutritional factors such as phytate and thiaminase, which can adversely affect their nutritional value. Dietary effects on insect nutrient composition are reviewed with an emphasis on essential minerals, heavy metals, vitamin E, and carotenoids. Lastly, the effects of processing, including protein extraction and various cooking methods on insect composition are discussed. In summary, this article provides an overview of the nutrient content of insects, and how select nutrients can be altered

Insects as food for insectivores

A variety of insects are commonly fed to captive insectivores. We review the nutrient content of a variety of commercially raised insects and compare those values to the data available for wild insects. These data are discussed in light of the nutrient requirements for domestic animals to identify nutrients of concern for captive insectivores. Additionally, various environmental and dietary factors that can significantly affect insect nutrient composition are reviewed. We then evaluate the various techniques that are currently used to enhance the nutrient content of commercially bred insects, including gut loading and dusting. Lastly, possible negative considerations that might be important factors when feeding captive insectivores, including pathogens, pathogenic microorganisms, toxins, and antinutritional factors, are discussed

Evidence of Vitamin D synthesis in insects exposed to UVb light

Vertebrates obtain the prohormone vitamin D primarily by endogenous cutaneous synthesis under ultraviolet b (UVb) exposure. To date, endogenous synthesis of vitamin D in insects has never been investigated. In an initial experiment, we exposed four insect species which differ in ecology and morphology (migratory locusts, house crickets, yellow mealworms and black soldier fly larvae (BSFL)) to a low irradiance UVb source. In a second experiment we exposed these species to a higher UV irradiance, and in a third we tested the effect of exposure duration on vitamin D concentrations in yellow mealworms. Low irradiance UVb tended to increase vitamin D3 levels in house crickets, vitamin D2 levels in BSFL and vitamin D2 and D3 in yellow mealworms. Higher UVb irradiance increased vitamin D3 levels in all species but BSFL. Both BSFL and migratory locusts had increased vitamin D2 levels. Longer UVb exposure of yellow mealworms increased vitamin D2 and increased vitamin D3 until a plateau was reached at 6400 IU/kg. This study shows that insects can synthesize vitamin D de novo and that the amounts depend on UVb irradiance and exposure duration.</p