Effect of black soldier fly larvae protein on the texture of meat analogues

Black soldier fly larvae are considered an alternative source of protein due to their high protein content and low environmental impact of farming. The effect of incorporation of black soldier fly larvae protein (87.6 ± 2.4 g/100 g content) on meat analogues textural characteristics was determined and compared with those of meat analogues prepared with other alternative sources of protein such as soy protein isolate and vital wheat gluten, while beef round, chicken breast, and a commercial plant-based meat analogue were used as reference matrices. Textural characteristics of the experimental meat analogues were used as response variables in robust regression models (R2 > 0.96) built to determine the main effects and interactions of proteins. Black soldier fly larvae protein decreased the textural characteristics of meat analogues as its amount in the formulation increased. The interaction of black soldier fly larvae protein with soy protein affected the hardness and chewiness of meat analogues, whereas the interaction with wheat gluten only affected their cohesiveness. Black soldier fly larvae protein can partially replace traditional proteins in meat analogues. The optimal incorporations of black soldier fly larvae protein in meat analogues which mimics textural characteristics of chicken breast and plant-based meat analogues were 6.7 g/100 g and 21.5 g/100 g, respectively

Effect of the rearing substrate on total protein and amino acid composition in black soldier fly

Insects are becoming increasingly relevant as protein sources in food and feed. The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is one of the most utilized, thanks to its ability to live on many leftovers. Vegetable processing industries produce huge amounts of by-products, and it is important to efficiently rear BSF on different substrates to assure an economical advantage in bioconversion and to overcome the seasonality of some leftovers. This work evaluated how different substrates affect the protein and amino acid content of BSF. BSF prepupae reared on different substrates showed total protein content varying between 35% and 49% on dry matter. Significant lower protein contents were detected in BSF grown on fruit by-products, while higher contents were observed when autumnal leftovers were employed. BSF protein content was mainly correlated to fibre and protein content in the diet. Among amino acids, lysine, valine and leucine were most affected by the diet. Essential amino acids satisfied the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) requirements for human nutrition, except for lysine in few cases. BSF could be a flexible tool to bio-convert a wide range of vegetable by-products of different seasonality in a high-quality protein-rich biomass, even if significant differences in the protein fraction were observed according to the rearing substrate

Seasonal variability of the HO.RE.CA. food leftovers employed as a feeding substrate for black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae and effects on the rearing performance

The SCALIBUR project (Horizon, 2020) aimed to explore innovative solutions, including the use of black soldier fly larvae, for the bio-urban waste management. This research work describes the evaluation of the variability in water, proteins, fat, ashes, and carbohydrates present in the HO.RE.CA. food leftovers which were withdrawn from a local canteen over a 12-month period and the relationship with (i) the growth parameters of the larvae, (ii) the percentage of substrate reduction and the percentage of frass separated through the mechanical sieve at the end of the rearing process. HO.RE.CA. food leftovers are overall a suitable feeding substrate for larval rearing. Water contained in the HO.RE.CA. food leftovers was sufficient for larval rearing without resorting to further addition. As for water content, a seasonal trend was not observed, on the contrary, it was proved to be totally random. However, high amount of water (>80%) was correlated with higher larval mortality rate. The larval weight was significantly correlated to the amount of protein (r = 0.80; p ≤ 0.001) present in the substrate, and to a lesser extent to the amount of fat (r = 0.43; p ≤ 0.05). The feed conversion rate and bioconversion rate were both in agreement with literature data. The statistical test did not show any significant correlation between the amount of water contained in the initial fresh HO.RE.CA. food leftovers and the percentage of substrate reduction and the percentage of frass separated through the mechanical sieve at the end of the rearing process

Sottoprodotti agroalimentari valorizzati con le mosche soldato

Le strategie di gestione degli scarti alimentari si sono finora concentrate principalmente sulla riduzione dei rifiuti, tuttavia la ricerca di nuove forme di valorizzazione rappresenta un\u2019alternativa concreta che apre nuovi scenari di mercato. La capacit\ue0 di alcune specie di insetti di utilizzare un\u2019ampia gamma di substrati organici comunemente considerati come sottoprodotti e rifiuti, rappresenta una delle soluzioni pi\uf9 promettenti per attuare il principio fondante dell\u2019economia circolare. Tra questi vi \ue8 la \u201cmosca soldato nera\u201d (Hermetia illucens, Diptera: Stratiomyidae), una mosca non infestante (gli adulti vivono pochi giorni, non si nutrono e non trasmettono patogeni), le cui larve sono in grado di svilupparsi su un\u2019ampia variet\ue0 di substrati organici ad elevato contenuto di umidit\ue0. Per sfruttare le potenzialit\ue0 delle mosche soldato nel ricavare nutrienti ad alto valore energetico utilizzabili sia in ambito alimentare/mangimistico, sia come combustibili, sia come ammendanti per l\u2019agricoltura \ue8 stato creato, nel solco dei Gruppi Operativi per l\u2019Innovazione (GOI) del partenariato PEI AGRI, il progetto BIOECO-FLIES, un gruppo di ricerca coordinato da CRPV (Centro Ricerche Produzioni Vegetali) e finanziato dalla Regione Emilia Romagna (PSR 2014-2020 Mis. 16.01 Focus Area 5C), che vede coinvolti diversi enti di ricerca pubblici e privati: Universit\ue0 di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), Universit\ue0 di Parma (UNIPR) e la societ\ue0 Astra Innovazione e Sviluppo. Partendo dai sottoprodotti della lavorazione di prodotti ortofrutticoli e olivicoli forniti dalle imprese agricole del GOI quali Consorzio Agribologna, C.A.B. Cooperativa agricola Brisighellese, Conserve Italia, ed altre aziende agricole del territorio Emiliano-Romagnolo, il progetto ha ottimizzato le caratteristiche quali-quantitative delle mosche soldato allevate in relazione alla stagionalit\ue0 dei sottoprodotti; inoltre, sono stati valutati i processi estrattivi applicabili per ottenere una separazione efficiente delle frazioni, le possibilit\ue0 di impiego di tali frazioni, e la sostenibilit\ue0 ambientale ed economica dell\u2019intero process

Performance di crescita larvale di Hermetia illucens su miscele di sottoprodotti caseari e vegetali stabilizzati

L’esigenza di trovare nuove fonti proteiche destinate alla mangimistica animale è impellente. In un’ottica di economia circolare nasce il progetto “Flies4Value” (POR-FESR Emilia Romagna), basato sull’utilizzo di un insetto bio-convertitore, la mosca soldato nera Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Le larve, allevate su sottoprodotti a diversa disponibilità stagionale, saranno destinate alla produzione sperimentale di mangime per galline ovaiole al fine di ottenere uova con un tuorlo naturalmente pigmentato, sopperendo all’attuale utilizzo di pigmenti sintetici. Questo lavoro mira ad individuare miscele ottimali di sottoprodotti stabilizzati forniti da aziende del territorio emiliano-romagnolo, al fine di massimizzare la performance di crescita larvale ed il contenuto in pigmenti. Sottoprodotti vegetali (scarti di lavorazione di pomodoro, ananas, mela, arancia, borlotti, cannellini, ceci, fagiolini e crusca) sono stati miscelati a scotta, uno scarto liquido della filiera casearia, in rapporto iniziale di 1:2. Inizialmente è stata valutata la crescita delle larve sui singoli substrati in due consistenze: a) integri come consegnati e disidratati e b) disidratati-macinati. Successivamente le larve sono state allevate su 4 miscele composte da diverse percentuali di pomodoro, crusca, fagiolini, borlotti e ceci, usando sempre la scotta come frazione liquida. Tutte le prove sono state effettuate in cella climatica (27°C, 70% umidità relativa) utilizzando contenitori di vetro in cui si inserivano 100 larve al 2-3 stadio e 300 gr di substrato. Ogni due giorni veniva monitorato il peso delle larve e le prove si concludevano alla comparsa della prima prepupa. Dalle prove preliminari è emerso che: a) le larve dal tasso di crescita più elevato (>0,02 g/giorno) erano quelle nutrite con crusca, ceci grossolano e macinato, fagiolini grossolano e macinato e pomodoro macinato; b) i migliori valori di conversione del substrato sono stati registrati su ceci grossolano, borlotti macinato, fagiolini grossolano, pomodoro macinato e crusca. Questi risultati uniti a quelli sul contenuto in nutrienti e pigmenti delle larve stesse, hanno portato all’elaborazione delle miscele testate nella seconda serie di prove. In generale le miscele di substrati hanno portato a migliori tassi di crescita (0,0244- 0,0273 g/gg) e di conversione del substrato (10,257- 12,720) rispetto ai substrati singoli. La composizione della miscela che verrà utilizzata per la produzione massale nell’ambito del progetto sarà quella che consente di massimizzare sia il tasso di crescita che il contenuto di pigmenti nelle larve. FLIES4VALUE è un progetto cofinanziato dal POR FESR, Programma 2014-2020, Asse 1, Azione 1.2.2, Bando per raggruppamenti di laboratori di ricerca

Insetti per la valorizzazione di scarti vegetali: l’economia circolare grazie alle mosche soldato

Sebbene il concetto di economia circolare, inteso come modello produttivo capace di sfruttare come materia prima gli scarti delle produzioni, sia diventato di dominio pubblico solo negli ultimi anni grazie alla sensibilizzazione verso le tematiche ambientali, l’industria agroalimentare può definirsi pioniera di questo settore: l’utilizzo dei biodigestori per recuperare metano dagli scarti organici è ormai consolidato all’interno della filiera e ormai solo una parte minore degli scarti vengono smaltiti come rifiuti

Bioassays for the optimization of Hermetia illucens (L.) egg laying in a prototype of industrial plant

The black soldier fly Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) presents a particular interest for the feed and food industry as its larvae have the capacity to convert quickly and efficiently large quantities of organic waste or byproducts into a protein biomass rich in fats. Although the information on larvae development is abundant, the necessary knowledge of adult biology to produce large amounts of eggs remains a great challenge. This work represents a part of a regional project (ValoriBio, Emilia Romagna, Italy) where one of the main outputs is the construction of a pilot plant for H. illucens mass rearing, which includes a module for adult rearing. Therefore, a specific custom-made climatic chamber was developed and it consisted in a thermally insulated container (1m3 volume), with a transparent window bearing a light-emitting diode (LED) lights source (UV, green and blue LEDs) on top. Temperature and humidity were controlled through a Peltier cooler/heater system, an ultrasound humidifier and several humidity-temperature digital sensors. An exterior electronic board connected to a touch screen was developed to control and record the rearing parameters. The biological parameters used to establish the functionality of the prototype were the patterns of oviposition, the egg weight and adult longevity. Bioassays were conducted in tree types of climatic chambers at 27°C ± 0,5°C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity considering as treatments the use of different light sources (fluorescent tubes, white LEDs and the UV-green-blue combination of LEDs) and the flies diet (water and sugar, just water or nothing). The results allowed to identify the better conditions to obtain the highest amounts of eggs in the shortest time

From Food Processing Leftovers to Bioplastic: A Design of Experiments Approach in a Circular Economy Perspective

Abstract: Aiming at reducing the environmental impact of low density polyethylene (LDPE) when employed as mulching film, this study was focused on the partial substitution of the material with proteins extracted from Hermetia illucens, also known as black soldier fly (BSF). Insects were reared on chicken manure and food leftovers in a circular economy perspective. To evaluate the effects of processing conditions and amount of BSF proteins on the properties of the final material the Design of Experiments technique was employed. Samples were obtained by hot mixing and compression molding, and their thickness, tensile stress, tensile strain, and Young modulus were measured and analyzed. According to mathematical models, the addition of BSF proteins in the mixture results in increased homogeneity and Young modulus of the material and in reduced tensile stress and strain. Results indicated that a LDPE-BSF proteins mixture of 50–50 wt%, processed at relative low temperature (130 °C) and time (3 min), ensures properties closer to pure molded LDPE (thickness = 0.8 mm, tensile stress = 6 MPa, tensile strain = 15% and Young modulus = 200 MPa) with lower environmental impact thanks to the high BSF proteins addition. Thereafter, BSF proteins can be employed as additive for LDPE for agricultural purposes, with processing methods feasible in an industrial perspective. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.