Grasshoppers:

Food Security & Nutrition

Aman Paul1, Sabine Danthine1, Michel Frederich2, Roel Uyttenbroeck1 & Frederic Francis1

1Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Belgium)2Department of Pharmacy, University of Liege (Belgium)

International Conference on

Food Technology : Impact on Nutrition and Health ( ICFIN-2013)

Contents

• Concept- Entomophagy• Eating Grasshoppers• Multifarious Aspects• Edible Species of Grasshoppers in Belgium• Lab Rearing of Grasshoppers• Protein & Fat Content of Lab Reared Species• Conclusion

Entomophagy

Consumption of insects as human food

Over 1900 insect species are popularly eaten in many parts of the world

Important source of proteins, lipids and some minor components

High social value to people who believe they have good nutritive and pharmaceutical properties

Heavily influenced by local cultural and religious practices

Eating Grasshoppers

• About 80 species of grasshoppers are edible and consumed worldwide• They have lots of qualities: most important being primary consumers,

univoltines, constitute enormous biomass, etc.• They not only serve as an important source of proteins and lipids but

also some minor components like vitamins and minerals• Average nutrient composition of grasshoppers is shown below:

Nutrient Composition

Protein (N=40)Fat (N=38)Fibre (N=38)NFE (N=36)Ash (N=38)

Eating Grasshoppers (Continued…)

Proteins

• Average protein content is 63.93%

• They are also an important source of essential amino acids

Fats

• Average fat content is 11.38% (R. differens: 48% being highest)

• They are a rich source of PUFA

Vitamins & Minerals

• They are source of magnesium and zinc

• R. differens is a good source of α- tocopherol, riboflavin and folic acid

Multifarious Aspects

Nutrition Environment Zoonotic Infection

Water Requirement Feed Conversion Ratio % Edibility

Green House Gas

Production

Crickets (1.7)

Poultry (2.5)

Beef (10)

Crickets Poultry Beef

80% 55% 40%

Edible Species of Grasshoppers in Belgium

Conocephalus discolor

Chorthippus parallelus

Chorthippus brunneus

Chorthippus biguttulus

Tettigonia viridissima

Lab Rearing of Grasshoppers

Parameters

Temperature: 28°C

Humidity: 65%

Light: 12L-12D light hours (100 W bulb)

Collection of EggStorage of eggs

The eggs are stored in two phases:1. Four weeks at 30°C2. 16 weeks at 5°C

Then the eggs are again brought at room temperature for hatching

For Laying Eggs Sieving

Protein & Fat Content of Lab Reared Species

Lipid Content

7.00% (Dry Weight)

13.07% (Dry Weight)

Protein Content (Dumas Method)

77.80% (Dry Weight)

78.41% (Dry Weight)

Product Protein %

Whole Milk 3.15Whole Egg 12.56

Beef 23.07

Cooked Salmon 25.44

Chicken 28.04

Sour

ceU

SFDA

Chorthippus parallelus

Conocephalus discolor

Method: Lipid extraction was done by a cold extraction technique using 2:1 chloroform/methanol as solvent

Conclusion

About 80 species of grasshoppers are consumed worldwide, which not only serve as an important source of proteins & fats but also minor components such as vitamins and minerals.

Apart from being nutritionally superior to most conventional meats their production results in -lower emission of greenhouse gases & ammonia, -risk of zoonotic infections in humans is much lower, -water requirement for production is much less and -have higher feed conversion ratio.

Lab rearing of grasshopper can be done to produce considerable amount of biomass enough for human consumption.

The two edible grasshopper species Conocephalus discolour and Chorthippus parallelus have -13.0% & 7.0% fat content and -78.4 % & 77.8% proteins content respectively (on dry weight)