Safety aspects of the production of foods and food ingredients from insects

Oliver Schlüter; Birgit Rumpold; Thomas Holzhauser; Angelika Roth; Rudi F Vogel; Walter Quasigroch; Stephanie Vogel; Volker Heinz; Henry Jäger; Nils Bandick; Sabine Kulling; Dietrich Knorr; Pablo Steinberg; Karl-Heinz Engel

doi:10.1002/mnfr.201600520

Safety aspects of the production of foods and food ingredients from insects

Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Jun;61(6). doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201600520. Epub 2016 Nov 14.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Potsdam, Germany.
² Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany.
³ Institute for Food Toxicology and Analytical Chemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
⁴ Chair of Technical Microbiology, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany.
⁵ Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Bonn, Germany.
⁶ German Institute of Food Technologies, Quakenbrück, Germany.
⁷ Institute of Food Technology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
⁸ Unit Food Technologies, Supply Chains and Food Defense Department Biological Safety, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany.
⁹ Department of Safety and Quality of Fruit and Vegetables, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Max Rubner-Institut, Karlsruhe, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Food Biotechnology and Food Process Engineering, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹¹ Chair of General Food Technology, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany.

PMID: 27623740
DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201600520

Abstract

At present, insects are rarely used by the European food industry, but they are a subject of growing interest as an alternative source of raw materials. The risks associated with the use of insects in the production of foods and food ingredients have not been sufficiently investigated. There is a lack of scientifically based knowledge of insect processing to ensure food safety, especially when these processes are carried out on an industrial scale. This review focuses on the safety aspects that need to be considered regarding the fractionation of insects for the production of foods and food ingredients.

Keywords: Allergenic potential; Edible insects; Food safety; Insect processing; Microbiological safety.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Allergens / analysis
Animals
Consumer Product Safety*
Dietary Carbohydrates
Dietary Fats / analysis
Dietary Proteins / analysis
Food Analysis
Food Handling*
Food Ingredients / analysis
Food Safety*
Humans
Insecta*
Microbiota

Substances

Allergens
Dietary Carbohydrates
Dietary Fats
Dietary Proteins
Food Ingredients