BUGS, BUGS, BUGS
WHICH ARE GOOD? WHICH ARE BAD?
Kavita Walia
May 2, 2018
Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, Department of Food Science, University of GuelphPresented at: 25th Annual Educational Workshop, Food Forum for Industry and Government in
Southwestern Ontario (FFIGS), Ingersoll, Ontario
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OUTLINE
Background
Research Gaps
Food Safety Hazards
Regulations – Canada, USA, EU
Recommendations
Current & Future Work
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BACKGROUND
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WHAT IS ENTOMOPHAGY?
The eating of insects
>2000 edible insects
Eaten by ~2 billion people
worldwide
Traditional practice in many nations:
Africa, Latin America, Asia and the
Pacific
Western countries beginning
to show an interesthttps://iowacricketfarmer.com/?page_id=6401
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TYPES OF EDIBLE INSECTS
Beetles Grasshoppers,
Locusts
Crickets Bugs and
Flies
Bees, Ants,
Termites
Moths Worms and
Caterpillars
Spiders
Jewel beetle Long-headed
grasshopperGiant
cricket
Edible stink
bug
Honey bee Pepper tree
mothWild silkworm Bird eater
spider
Ground
beetle
Sundanese
tree locust
Spotted
cricket
Melon Bug Stingless bee Msasa moth African silkworm
Long-horned
beetle
Australian
plague locust
African mole
cricket
Water
scorpions
Hornet Jameson’s
cream spot
African army worm
Stag beetle Coffee locust Mormon
bush cricket
Sudan
millet bug
Southern yellow
jacket
Dark Chopper Lesser army worm
Cockroach Red locust Sand cricket Mayfly African thief ant Slug moth Common bagworm
Western ash
borer
Brown locust Non-biting
midges
Driver ants Emperor moth Red tequila worm
Yam beetle Madagascar
locustDragonfly Weaver ants Hawk moth Processionary
caterpillar
Dung beetle Edible
grasshopper
Black fly Honey ant Silk moth Mopane worm –
larvae of emperor
moth
Weevile Rocky
mountain
grasshopper
Cicada Dry wood
termite
Water Beetle Fruit fly Harvester
termites
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AMAZON.com (TREND?)
- How are these products regulated?
- Avenue for future illness?
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ENTOMO FARMS (ONTARIO)
History of farming insects for reptiles
North America’s first human-grade insect
farm (2014)
One of the worlds largest insect protein
providers
- How is this farming practice regulated in
in Ontario?
- Adverse effects?
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COOKIE MARTINEZ (TORONTO)
Toronto restaurant specializing in Colombian Street Food
Serves an insect menu:
Cricket empanadas
Cricket kebabs
Cricket brittle
Spicy insect spoon with silk worms
Agar agar and cricket garnish
- How is this regulated?
- Adverse effects?
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ANNUAL CONFERENCE
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https://www.entsoc.org/event-calendar/2nd-international-insects-feed-world-conference
SUSTAINABILITY
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ECO-FRIENDLY
Help reduce environmental contamination
Play a role in waste biodegradation
Require less watering and less land for harvesting
E.g., crickets require 12 times less feed and13 times less water than cattle
Emit low levels of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions
E.g., pigs produce 10-100 times more emissions per kg than mealworms
Efficient at converting feed into protein
https://www.westernexterminator.com/bug-control/edible-insects/
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GROWING POPULATION
Edible insects have the potential to meet the growing
demand for protein while contributing to food and
nutrition security
“…all over the world money worth billions are spent every year to save crops that contain no more than 14% of plant
protein by killing another food source (insects) that may
contain up to 75% of high-quality animal protein.”
- Premalatha et al. (2011)
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INSECTS vs. TRADITIONAL PROTEIN
https://www.westernexterminator.com/bug-control/edible-insects/
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NUTRITION
ENERGY VALUE
293 to 762 kcal/100 g dry
matter
PROTEIN
13 to 77% of dry matter
ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS
46-96%
FAT CONTENT
10–60% of dry matter
TOTAL POLYUNSATURATED
FATTY ACIDS
up to 70% of total fatty acids
CARBOHYDRATES (CHITIN)
2.7 mg and 49.8 mg/kg of fresh
matter
Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Na, Mn, P and Zn,
B group vitamins and vitamins A, C,
D, E, K
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VARIABILITY IN TASTE AND FLAVOUR
A sweet, almost nutty and wholemeal bread flavour
Tastes like:
Fatty brisket with skin
Fish, caviar, herring
Mushrooms
Apples
Pine seeds/nuts
Raw corn
Fried potatoes
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RESEARCH GAPS
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CURRENTLY
Current research focus:
Nutritional aspects
Sustainability of production
Economics
Types of insects consumed by various ethnic groups
However…Food safety aspects of edible insects are LIMITED
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FOOD SAFETY HAZARDS
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THE PERFECT STORM
Insects that feed on edible plants can be considered safe to
consume
However…
Edible insects can harbour:
Pathogenic Microorganisms
Chemicals including pesticides, heavy metals and alkalis
Mycotoxins
Natural Toxins
Allergens
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BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS - MICROBIAL
Eating insects raw can result in potential illness from:
Enterobacteriaceae and spore-forming bacteria, as these
type of microorganisms are commonly found in soil
Current literature suggests:
Acinetobacter
Bacillus cereus
Campylobacter
Escherichia coli
Micrococcus
Proteus
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Staphylococcus
Dependent on species,
microbiota, rearing
conditions, handling,
processing and
preservation
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BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS – MICROBIAL cont.
The Scientific Committee of the Belgian Federal Agency
for the Safety of the Food Chain (2014):
Total aerobic bacterial counts ~104 to 107 CFU/g
Total anaerobic bacterial counts ~107 CFU/g
Enterobacteriaceae in mealworms, locusts and morio worms
~107 to 109 CFU/g
Enterobacteriaceae in raw silk worms ~10 CFU/g
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http://worldmicrobio.blogspot.ca/p/tpc.html
BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS - PARASITES
Flukes (various spp.)
Nematodes
Trypanosoma (causes Chagas)
Protozoa
For control:
Harvesting insects from a closed environment (i.e., a
controlled farm) to limit parasitic hosts
Proper cooking and freezing to further decrease risks
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CHEMICAL HAZARDS
Highly dependent on:
Insect species
Habitat
Natural environment
Farming conditions
Feed
Insects with a shorter life cycle will bioaccumlate less chemicals than those that have a longer life cycle
Examples:
Some insects (wax moths, migratory locusts, mealworm beetle, buffalo worm) contain low levels of common chemical hazards: Flame retardants, PCBs, DDT, Dioxin, Pesticides, Metals such as As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn. Levels are the same as those found in meat and fish products
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CHEMICAL HAZARDS - EXAMPLES
Case reports of high elevated blood lead levels in California children and pregnant
women after consuming dried grasshoppers (i.e., chapulines) imported from Mexico
Metabolic steroids found in beetles potentially caused growth retardation, hypofertility,
masculinization in females, edema, jaundice and liver cancer
Longhorn beetles known to contain toluene – affects nervous system causing
headaches, dizziness or unconsciousness, also affects liver and kidneys
Flour beetles contain benzoquinones, but their carcinogenicity is not known…
Some insects can contain natural toxic substances such as cyanogenic glycosides
leading to high levels of hydrogen cyanide
Certain insects have anti-nutritional substances where after consumption deficiency of
key vitamins occur (e.g., thiamine deficiency after consuming Anaphe venata
caterpillar)
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FOOD ALLERGENS
Adverse effect from a specific immune response that occurs after
exposure to a given food
For the majority of those eating edible insects the risk to allergic
reactions will be low
However, for those with allergic reactions to crustaceans and house
dust mites the risk is high
Examples:
Yellow mealworm can result in co-sensitization between allergens (arginine
kinase and tropomyosin) and those from crustaceans and house dust mites
Some insects have high levels of chitin so individuals who are allergic to
shrimp may also be allergic to these edible insects
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FOOD ALLERGENS – CASE REPORTS
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SILKWORM PUPA - ANAPHYLAXIS
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Silkworm pupae are nutrient rich, ~ 50% protein and abundant
amino acids
Traditional Chinese food and used in medicine
Served: fried in oil, boiled in water, or ground in powder form
① Jie et al. 2008:
13 people suffered anaphylactic reactions to silkworm pupae
Allergen is ~30 kDa protein (not specified)
② Gautreau et al. 2016:
Reported 2 cases of anaphylactic shock in one family
ALLERGEN LABELLING?
If foods contain edible insects should those foods have
an allergen label on the packaging stating “Insects”?
Label carmine dye as an allergen?
From dried female cochineal insects
Food dye in ice cream, yogurt, candy, cosmetic products
Many reports of asthma induced by inhalation of carmine dye
Health Canada = cochineal
USA = must be labeled in ingredient list as: “cochineal extract
or carmine”
EU = E120
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Insects
Cochineal
Extract or
Carmine Dye
REARING CONDITIONS
A. Strict containment system – insects raised in tanks or trays with
separation for adults and larvae to avoid cannibalistic behaviour
B. Strict conditions – constant ventilation, natural/artificial light, constant temperature, controlled relative humidity to avoid growth of dust
mites and molds
C. Dry and rigid growing substrate – sawdust or wood chips,
paper/cardboard, cellulose pulp, terracotta; substrates that can
contain cavities and shelters
D. Source of drinking water – sponges, blotting paper, in saucers
E. Food supply adapted to the species – plant based, flaked cereals, oats, dry bread, peelings from plants used by humans
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SLAUGTHERING
Slaughtering by freezing for minimum 24h at -18°C (does not
fully destroy microbes or parasites) OR
Slaughtering by boiling in water for 10-15 min at 90°C (destroys
microbes and parasites but not bacterial spores)
Boiled insects are drained and dried or cooled immediately to
4°C
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Insects-for-Food-Prep-101/http://www.creaturecontrol.net/insect-freeze-tolerance-mechanism/
PROCESSING - HACCP
During processing ensure procedures do not result in
contamination:
Dehydration at 90°C for 5 hours with pasteurization
Deep-frying at >160°C in oil (careful to avoid formation of
acrylamide from the Maillard reaction…“so not too brown!”)
Toasting at >120°C (while insects are pasteurized, viable spores
may still be present)
Freeze-drying only suitable for insects killed by boiling (considered
low-temperature dehydration)
Acidification (lactic fermentation or use of vinegar) – shown to
inactive Enterobacteriaceae and stabilize spore-forming bacteria
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REGULATIONS
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ACTION LEVELS – USA & CANADA
FDA: The Food Defect Action Level (21 CFR 110.110)
“maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard”
Example: Dates, chopped/sliced/macerated – 10 or more dead insects (whole or equivalent) in 1 or more subsamples OR 5 or more dead insects per 100 g
CANADA: Unavoidable Extraneous Material
“material may occur in food as a by-product of the processing system or as something inherent to the product itself”
Example: minute insect fragments in figs
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NOVEL FOOD? EU & CANADA
European Union has defined “whole insects and their parts”
as novel foods [Regulation (EU) 2015/2283]
Canada – can they be considered as novel foods as well?
Food & Drug Regulations (Division 28): “a substance,
including a microorganism, that does not have a history of
safe use as food”?
Would they require premarket safety
evaluations/authorization before sale?
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RECOMMENDATIONS
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Ensure that insects are fasted before harvesting to limit
microbial content in the gut
Proper handling and processing – HACCP procedures
Heat treatment or cooking step or combination of steps:
Boiling or blanching for 10-15 min at 90ºC
Roasting or sterilization using a brine solution, heating, or lactic acid fermentation
Freeze-drying and grinding
Allergens is a big issue – reason for concern
Allergen labelling for edible insects and products derived
thereof (e.g. carmine dye)
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FUTURE OUTLOOK
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CURRENT WORK
Qualitative risk assessment of cricket powder for undernourished infants and children in Cambodia - World Vision Canada (Published in Food Control)
Food safety review on edible insects
Evaluating the microbial content of select insect products that are currently available in local retail stores and from Amazon.ca
Ideas for future funding initiatives and/or collaborations?
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c9/a3/c2/c9a3c2221d18edd7bb6a0d438d7fe7d8--science-
cartoons-grant.jpg
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QUESTIONS??
Long history of use in non-western countries, with limited illness reports. Is this due to underreporting or true? Future research?
Introduction of regulations for rearing?
Will CFIA/Health Canada inspect insect farms especially if they grow and produce in the same facility?
If no regulations are currently available, how is that insect products are now available on store shelves in Canada?
What kind of controls are in place? Is it just HACCP or should controls that are in place for livestock be the same for insects?
What is the microbial load of pathogenic bacteria (CFU) in edible insects?
Determining the microbiota of edible insects?
What types of farming conditions are best?
Do certain substrates (food waste, manure) lead to more hazards and what types occur?
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So…what
’s for
lunch?
http://tastewiththeeyes.com/2015/10/entomophagic-anju-tasty-insect-snacks-enjoy-drinking/
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THANK YOU!!