As more and more people question our meat consumption and alternative diets are on the rise, consuming insects as an alternative protein source has become a part of the conversation about sustainable foods in western countries. The attitudes towards the topic are mixed due to insects being a rare food in western countries but in countries such as Sweden the attitudes towards eating insects are often negative. People often reject the idea of eating insects because they simply don’t see them as edible, but why are insects not edible when other animals such as cows are a typical food? This project aims to discover what moral differences there are between different animals and how these differences affect what meat we can or can’t eat and how we view insects as food.

Insects have been proposed as a sustainable alternative to livestock to help feed the growing population. Edible insects such as mealworms require less land and resources and can utilize food by-products to grow. While insects are consumed by over 2 billion people worldwide, they are not widely accepted in developed countries like the United States because of their unfamiliarity and the perception of disgust associated with entomophagy. The objectives of this research are to 1) grow mealworms using carrot pomace and determine an optimum diet for growth and nutritional composition, 2) identify and classify early adopters of insects, and propose a product form, and 3) assess the acceptability of frozen, ready-to-cook mealworms with early adopters. A response surface design was used to evaluate the use of carrot pomace in various percentages in the substrate and as the moisture source in a mealworm growing system. Mealworms were grown under controlled conditions in a climate chamber until they began to pupate, and statistical models were fitted to predict mealworm mortality, weight, days to pupation, protein content, fat content, and moisture content. An algorithm in Design Expert was used to optimize mealworm growth based on maximizing mealworm weight and minimizing mortality and days to pupation, and the optimum diet was found to be 36% carrot pomace in the substrate with carrot pomace as the moisture source. Early adopters of insects were identified through a survey using Red Jade Sensory Software. Participants were segmented using partitioning around medoids clustering algorithm based on responses to questions on willingness to consume insects in a variety of forms. Four segments were identified: No-thank-you’s, Hideaways, Daredevils, and Peekaboo’s. Daredevils, Peekaboo’s, and Hideaways are early adopters of insects in the nonvisible form, and Daredevils and Peekaboo’s are also early adopters of insects in the visible form. Based on these insights, frozen, ready-to-cook mealworms were selected to target Daredevils and Peekaboo’s as a product to serve as a sustainable alternative to traditional livestock protein. Participants from each of the four segments were shown a video of mealworm cooking and asked their willingness to buy the product and the motivation behind their response. The majority of respondents were unwilling to buy this product, driven by unfamiliarity and the perception of disgust. However, over half of Daredevils were willing to buy the product, driven by the novelty and ease of preparation. Marketing a product towards this group may be a feasible route for entry into the market and increase the familiarity of edible insects, thereby contributing to long-term acceptability.

This study is an introduction of the learning of key aspects affecting Swedish people’s acceptance of edible insects, in Växjö and Gothenburg. The study aims to assess the attitudes of people towards edible insects. Public general knowledge about edible insects as well as their perception about benefits that comes with insects is explored. This study tries to contribute to the introduction of edible insects and to get a deeper understanding of how you can influence people’s attitude toward insects. To understand the Swedish acceptance of edible insects this study makes use of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which is a theory that tries to predict behaviour based on attitude, social pressure, and perceived control over the action. By studying these three categories and the addition if it is morally right or wrong to consume insects, the paper tries to identify what influences the perception to improve it long-term. To get an in-depth understanding of the categories affecting behaviour and perception, this study will make use of semi-instructed interviews. The study will establish three criteria for sampling, gender, age, and education and aims to collect adequate information by using snowball sampling.

The main objective of this study is to examine the potential contribution of households’ involvement in mopane worm activities (harvesting, commercialisation and consumption) to households’ food security in the Mopani District of the Limpopo Province. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from a stratified sample of 120 households, 60 of which are mopane worm harvesters. The Binary Logit Model was used to determine households’ socio-economic factors affecting participation in mopane worm harvesting. The results revealed that gender of the household head, age of the respondent, households’ size and the level of income per month increases the probability of households participating in mopane worm harvesting whilst distance to the market and food expenditure as well as religion (belonging to the Zion Christian Church) decreased the probability of being mopane worm harvester. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model was used to identify households’ socio-economic factors that determine the rate of commercialisation of mopane worms within harvesting households. 53 percent of the households commercialized their harvest. The model identified that gender, harvesting experience and income from mopane worm sales are the main factors determining commercialisation within harvesting households. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to determine household food security status. The result revealed that about 20 percent of the harvesters were food secure, while 80 percent where food insecure. In addition, about 12 percent of the non-harvesters were food secured. An OLS model was also used to examine the impact of mopane worms in the food security status of the households in the Limpopo Province. The results revealed that age, education level of a household head, level of income, income from mopane worm sales and frequency of consuming mopane worm/day improve the food security status of households whilst households’ size and the distance to the market worsens the food security status of the households. The study found that about 48 to 60 percent of the households to be adopting less pervasive strategies like asking neighbours/family relatives for help, borrowing money for food and selling mopane worms for cash to protect their food consumption and over 70 percent adopted strategies like reducing food intake, portion size and eating less preferred food were adopted to modify their food consumption. The findings indicated that policy priorities should be focused on the promotion of harvesters associations for collective marketing and creating an enabling environment for sustainable harvesting and commercialisation. / M. Sc. Agric. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2013.

Táto diplomová práca je zameraná na nutričné zhodnotenie vybraných práškov hmyzu zo svrčkov domových, z lariev múčiara obyčajného a potemníka stajňového a jedného potravinového produktu na báze hmyzu, ktorý bol tiež vyvinutý ako jeden z cieľov tejto práce. Okrem základných nutričných analýz boli použité aj ICP-OES pre zistenie obsahu minerálov a GC-FID pre zistenie zloženia mastných kyselín. Tiež bol stanovený obsah hrubej bielkoviny pomocou CHNSO analyzátora a stanovený obsah EAA. Pomocou PCA analýzy sa úspešne podarilo rozlíšiť vzorky jednotlivých hmyzích práškov, ktoré potvrdili rozmanitosť jednotlivých druhov hmyzu a vďaka projekcii do roviny hlavných komponent je možné vidieť, v ktorých nutričných parametroch sa najviac líšia. Bola tiež vykonaná senzorická analýza novo vyvinutého produktu na báze hmyzu s prídavkom prášku z potemníka stajňového v porovnaní s konkurenčnými produktmu. Súčasťou práce je aj rozsiahly spotrebiteľský prieskum na vzorke 2 019 účastníkov, týkajúci sa vnímania entomofágie v Českej republike a na Slovensku, ktorý sa uskutočnil online.

<p>Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their risk factors remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in North America. Food-derived bioactive peptides (BAP) have been shown to play a role in regulating physiological pathways of CVD risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, and chronic inflammation. Common sources of BAP include dairy and plant proteins. In addition to being an alternative protein source, it is now accepted that edible insect proteins can also confer health benefits beyond nutrition. However, as with any novel protein source, allergenicity remains a major concern surrounding edible insect consumption. </p> <p>This dissertation aimed to: 1) Evaluate the bioactive potential of peptides from an edible cricket species and; 2) determine the effects of BAP production methods on immunoreactivity. First, peptide-rich extracts were generated from farmed food-grade crickets via enzymatic hydrolysis techniques with the commercial protease Alcalase™. To measure the <i>in vitro</i> bioavailability, cricket peptides were also subject to simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGD). Peptides and their digests were tested for relevant bioactivities and active groups were further fractionated by chromatographic methods to identify the major peptides responsible for the bioactivity. When tested for <i>in vitro</i> antihypertensive and anti-glycemic properties, cricket peptides were found to inhibit the activities of angiotensin converting enzyme, dipeptidyl peptidase-4, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase. The anti-inflammatory potential was expounded using RAW-264.7 macrophages and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Cricket peptides (after SGD) effectively lowered NF-κB, MCP-1, and IL-6 production in cells without affecting their viability. Proteomic analyses identified 18 sequences from the enriched cationic peptide fraction that showed the highest activity. Three novel peptides were identified via molecular docking, as potent ACE-inhibitors and binding was similar to that of the commercial drug captopril. Key binding characteristics included interaction with hydrophobic amino acids (Phe, Pro, Leu) near the C-terminal position and coordination with Zn (II) ions near the ACE active site.</p> <p>Immunological reactivity was measured by IgE-binding from shrimp-allergenic patient sera to antigens present within cricket peptides. Our studies demonstrate that immunoreactivity was impacted by enzymatic hydrolysis, depending on the conditions and heating source used. Tropomyosin (a major shrimp allergen) was extracted from both untreated crickets and protein hydrolysates, and verified as the major reactive protein. Tropomyosin reactivity decreased (under both partial and extensive hydrolysis) or retained (under conditions which prevented epitope cleavage). However, using microwave-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis was effective at decreasing tropomyosin reactivity in all immunoassays tested (IgG and IgE). Proteomic and immunoinformatic analyses revealed prominent allergen binding regions of cricket tropomyosin available for cleavage during enzymatic hydrolysis. Conserved antigen regions showed greater homology with other crustacean species, but not with other well studied allergenic insect proteins (i.e., cockroach). Lastly, LC-MS/MS and FT-Raman spectrometry suggests that reactivity was affected due to distinct epitope cleavage within the protein instead of decreased antigen extractability/solubility. </p> <p>The findings of this dissertation support that edible cricket proteins are a potential source of bioactive peptides for functional food or nutraceutical development. Additionally, using protein extraction methods such as microwave-assisted hydrolysis seems a promising tool for minimizing the immunoreactivity of the allergen present in this edible cricket species.</p>

MSc (Zoology) / Department of Zoology / Mopane worm (Gonimbrasia belina Westwood) is an indigenous edible insect that periodically has population eruptions in Mopane tree (Colosphermum mopane) dominated vegetation. This insect is a valuable source of food and has become an economic commodity for commercial harvesters. Despite its importance, little is known of the population dynamics of mopane worm. Considerable attention has been paid to the nutritional and social dimensions of mopane worm consumption. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is a decline in the spatial extent of their distribution due to unsustainable utilization, land transformation, and commercialization. This is paralleled with a decrease of harvest yield, thereby affecting local communities, commercial harvesting operations, and market product availability. Partial domestication of this species may be a way of ensuring sustainable and reliable utilization of this edible insect because it improves natural survival rates. Here I explore mopane worm ecology by mainly focusing on understanding spatial structuring and the role of domestication in the development of sustainable harvest techniques of Mopane worms (G. belina). Spatial structuring of mopane worms was investigated at both a fine (10m x 10m) and medium-scale (1 km2) at sites with and without commercial harvesting. Mopane worm populations were experimentally treated through transplant experiments and manipulating access of predators to 1st – 3rd instar larvae. The role of tree characteristics (height, canopy volume and number of stems) on both spatial and experimental treatments were explored using generalized linear mixed models. Moran’s Eigenvector Maps (MEM’s) were used to represent spatial structures at various scales and the role of soil. Relative to control, seeding of worms was successful in establishing new populations in unoccupied areas while transplant and application of sleeve nets had no significant effect on larval survival. Populations at sites where no harvesting takes place were spatially structured, while this was not true where commercial harvesting takes place. Canopy volume also accounted for egg packets distribution although the relationship was ambiguous. The density of larvae increased with an increase in sodium concentration in soil. Seeding of the population provides a viable option for the sustainable utilization of mopane worms and educating people on how to domesticate mopane worms. This study also highlights that populations of mopane worms are not only clumped in time but also in space and at various spatial scales. / NRF

Insekten besitzen das Potenzial, als alternative Nahrungsquelle einen Beitrag zur Sicherstellung der Ernährung der wachsenden Weltbevölkerung zu leisten. Rechtlich gelten sie gemäß Vorgaben der Verordnung (EU) 2015/2283 als neuartige Lebensmittel und dürfen im Rahmen der Übergangsvorschriften dieser Verordnung unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen bereits in der Europäischen Union vermarktet werden. Da sie als wirbellose Tiere bisher aus dem Anwendungsbereich vieler Vorgaben herausfallen, stellen die rechtliche Beurteilung und vergleichbare Ergebnisgenerierung im Rahmen der amtlichen Lebensmittelüberwachung besondere Herausforderungen dar. Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation ist es, die Nutzung, das Inverkehrbringen und die Planung von Untersuchungsschwerpunkten durch die amtlichen Lebensmittelüberwachungs- sowie Untersuchungsbehörden, Produzenten und Lebensmittelunternehmer zu erleichtern, indem die aktuelle Rechtslage zum Thema Speiseinsekten zusammengefasst und die Anwendbarkeit von Methoden der Amtlichen Sammlung von Untersuchungsverfahren geprüft wird. Außerdem werden die Besonderheiten der Spezies Honigbienen-Drohnenbrut herausgestellt. Zur Beurteilung der aktuellen Rechtslage erfolgte neben der Einbeziehung der EU-Gesetzgebung eine Abfrage von 28 EU-Mitgliedsstaaten sowie der zuständigen Behörden für die Lebensmittelüberwachung der 16 Bundesländer in Deutschland bezüglich des aktuellen Umgangs mit Speiseinsekten und zu Änderungen, die im Zusammenhang mit den Übergangsregelungen der Verordnung (EU) 2015/2283 stehen. Zur Prüfung der Anwendbarkeit der Methoden der Amtlichen Sammlung von Untersuchungsverfahren nach § 64 Lebens- und Futtermittelgesetzbuch für die Parameter Wasser, Asche, Rohprotein, Fett und Natrium als standardisierte Methoden zur Bestimmung der Nährwerte, wurden vier Insektenspezies ausgewählt. Für diese lag bereits ein Antrag als neuartige Lebensmittel vor und sie repräsentierten die Variabilität dieser Lebensmittelmatrix. Nach Probenvorbereitung und Homogenitätstest erfolgte ein Werteabgleich mit vier Laboren. Um die Ergebnisse mit den entsprechenden Vorgaben zu vergleichen, wurden mit der Hilfe von unabhängigen Zielstandardabweichungen z-Scores berechnet und zur Leistungsbewertung herangezogen. In einem Übersichtsartikel wurden zudem Informationen zu der Nährstoffzusammensetzung, Sensorik, bisherigen Verwendungsmöglichkeiten, zum rechtlichen Rahmen und zu Risiken von Drohnenbrut als Lebensmittel zusammengefasst. Außerdem erfolgten mittels Flüssigchromatographie mit Massenspektrometrie-Kopplung Untersuchungen zum Nachweis von Pestizidrückständen in 37 Drohnenbrutproben. Die Darstellung der geltenden rechtlichen Aspekte sowie deren Umsetzung in den EU-Mitgliedsstaaten sowie in den Bundesländern in Deutschland zeigen, dass der gesetzliche Rahmen des Inverkehrbringens von Speiseinsekten bisher nicht mit dem von Lebensmitteln anderer Kategorien vergleichbar ist. Die Notwendigkeit der Anpassungen der gültigen Vorgaben vor allem in den Bereichen Kennzeichnung, allgemeinen Hygienevorschriften, tierseuchen-, tierschutz- sowie umweltrechtlichen Aspekten wurde herausgestellt. Es konnte außerdem nachgewiesen werden, dass die überprüften Methoden zur Bestimmung der Parameter Wasser, Asche, Rohprotein, Gesamtfett und Natrium die spezifischen Anforderungen für gefrorene Speiseinsekten erfüllen. Damit können sie nach einer Verifizierung als standardisierte Methoden von Laboren eingesetzt werden. Im Rahmen der eigenen Untersuchungen konnten keine Pestizidrückstände in Drohnenbrut detektiert werden. Auch die Zusammenfassung der bisherigen Studien ergaben keine Gefahren für die Verbraucher. Aufgrund der geringen Datenmengen sollten jedoch weitere Studien und regelmäßige Kontrollen durchgeführt werden. Die vorliegende Dissertation liefert für Produzenten, Unternehmer, gesetzgebende Institutionen und überwachende Behörden einen Überblick darüber, welche Vorgaben aktuell gelten und welche rechtlichen Überarbeitungen zukünftig notwendig sind. Außerdem wurde mit Hilfe der neuen Erkenntnisse die Beurteilung von Insektenproben nicht nur vereinfacht, sondern auch vereinheitlicht und damit vergleichbar gemacht. Da bisher keine Gefahren ausgehend von Drohnenbrut als Lebensmittel festgestellt werden konnten, ist deren Nutzung nicht nur ökologisch und ernährungsphysiologisch sinnvoll, sondern kann daneben einen Baustein zur Sicherstellung der Versorgung der anwachsenden Menschheit liefern. Von besonderer Bedeutung für die Etablierung von Speiseinsekten auf dem deutschen Markt sind die zeitnahe Publikation einer nationalen Leitlinie sowie Aufklärungsarbeit bezüglich Insekten als Lebensmittel zu leisten.

Many insects are considered as potential sources of food for humans because of their high content of protein, fat, minerals and vitamins. Tessaratoma papillosa Drury, a stink bug of longan tree has long been consumed by many people in Vietnam as a supplemental source of nutrition. This insect is one of the most severe pests of longan tree. The use of this insect as supplementary nutrient could actively reduce the pests on longans, contributing to increase productivity and quality of longan fruit. The aim of this paper is to estimate the volume of mature and young Tessaratoma papillosa on longan trees in Son La Province, Vietnam. / Nhiều loài côn trùng được coi là nguồn thực phẩm tiềm năng của con người vì chúng có chứa hàm lượng cao protein, chất béo, chất khoáng và vitamin. Loài bọ xít nhãn Tessaratoma papillosa Drury, từ lâu đã được nhiều người dân ở Việt Nam sử dụng như là một nguồn thực phẩm bổ sung dinh dưỡng. Loài bọ xít nhãn là một trong những loài gây hại nghiêm trọng nhất đối với cây nhãn. Việc sử dụng loài côn trùng này không những bổ sung chất dinh dưỡng cho con người mà còn góp phần chủ động giảm loài sâu hại trên nhãn, góp phần tăng năng suất và chất lượng trái cây nhãn. Mục đích của bài viết này là để ước tính khối lượng trưởng thành và ấu trùng loài Tessaratoma papillosa trên cây nhãn ở tỉnh Sơn La, Việt Nam.

Submitted by José Maria Pimenta de Castro de Souza Coutinho (zemarsc@gmail.com) on 2017-07-27T00:26:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Master Thesis - Insects As a Legitimate Food Ingredient - Barriers & Strategies.pdf: 1532556 bytes, checksum: cef1675522a92fbe941f3380a897808d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-08-29T20:02:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Master Thesis - Insects As a Legitimate Food Ingredient - Barriers & Strategies.pdf: 1532556 bytes, checksum: cef1675522a92fbe941f3380a897808d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-30T20:51:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Master Thesis - Insects As a Legitimate Food Ingredient - Barriers & Strategies.pdf: 1532556 bytes, checksum: cef1675522a92fbe941f3380a897808d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-15 / Só a simples ideia de comer insectos já é suficiente para impulsionar repulsa em relação à entomofagia. Uma categorização cultural inadequada deste hábito alimentar tem vindo a ser cultivada pelas sociedades ocidentais. As diversas abordagens sobre a divulgação de invertebrados como um legítimo hábito alimentar têm sido mal aplicadas. Os esforços educacionais não alcançaram nenhum êxito. Com o fim de enfrentar esta aversão cognitiva relativamente aos insectos é imprescindível uma mudança radical no plano estratégico. Esta pesquisa qualitativa explicativa tem como objectivo uma plena compreensão teórica, e metodologicamente sustentada, dos impulsionadores psicológicos e culturais que levam às suposições negativas da população. Ao desmistificar os preconceitos e as falsas premissas através da normalização da entomofagia eliminar-se-á a imagem nociva e incoerente de repulsa que se posiciona na mente dos ocidentais. Estratégias psico-culturais juntamente com a ciência gastronómica devem ser levadas a cabo quando este produto é introduzido num mercado onde o insecto é considerado um alimento culturalmente inaceitável. / The very idea of eating insects is the greatest booster of the revulsion feeling towards entomophagy. An inappropriate cultural categorisation of this eating habit has been cultivated by Western societies. The various approaches on promoting invertebrates as a legitimate food habit have been misapplied. Educational efforts have been made unsuccessfully. To address cognitive aversion toward insects, a complete change in the strategic plan must be established. This qualitative explanatory research aims at a full theoretical, and methodologically sustained, understanding of the psychological and cultural drivers that lead to the negative assumptions of the population. The demystification of prejudices and imaginations by promoting normalcy of entomophagy it will stamp the harmful and incoherent disgust image out of the Westerners’ psyche. This study underpins the psycho-cultural strategies along with gastronomic science that must be carried out when this product is introduced in a market where the insect is a culturally unacceptable food.