Insects are popular food in many cultures all over the world as occasional delicacy or replacement food in times of shortages as in droughts, floods or war (Fasunwon et al. 2011). Entomophagy in Africa includes 470 insect species (Kelemu et al. 2015), in Mexico more than 500 (Shockley et al. 2018) and globally 1,555 insect species (Dossey et al. 2016), 2,111 insect species (Jongema 2017) or 2,141 insect species (Mitsuhashi 2021). Van Itterbeeck and Pelozuelo (2022) reexamined the Jongema (2017) list and estimated the number of edible insects species as 1611. Currently, 2 billion people in 113 countries consume insects (Tao and Li 2018). As latitude increases away from the tropics, insect eating declines (Lesnik 2017). Species of stored product insects considered for food and feed include lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, meal worm,Tenebrio molitor, Superworm, Zophobas morio and wax moths (Galleria mellonella).
Many aspects of the production and consumption of these stored product insects as food or feed have been studied including insect species used (Gere et al. 2019), efficiency of insect rearing (Gourgouta et al. 2022, Ribeiro et al. 2018, Rumbos et al. 2021a, b), genetic improvement (Eriksson et al. 2020, Eriksson and Picard 2021, Morales-Ramos et al. 2019), insect infestation during storage (Allotey et al. 1997, Deruytter et al. 2021, Fasunwon et al. 2011, Hagstrum and Subramanyam 2009, Rigopoulou et al. 2023a, b, Rumbos et al. 2020), detection of insect ingredients in food or feed (Garino et al. 2022, Mandrile et al. 2018), moisture sorption (Azzollini et al. 2016, Sun et al. 2021), food safety issues (Belleggia et al. 2020, Belluco et al. 2013, 2018, Dreassi et al. 2020, Fraqueza and Patarata 2017, Houbraken et al. 2016, Kooh et al. 2020), Vandeweyer et al. 2021), microbial load (Megido et al. 2017, Wynants et al. 2018), processing (Anusha and Negi 2023, Baek et al. 2015, Borremans et al. 2020, El Hajj et al. 2023, Hernandez-Alvarez et al. 2021, Kröncke et al. 2018, Krongdang et al. 2023, Melgar-Lalanne et al. 2019, Sindermann et al. 2021), packaging (Rossi et al. 2023), health of humans and animals (Cito et al. 2017, Ribeiro et al. 2021, Stull 2021), food quality (Baek et al. 2019, Gonzalez et al. 2019, Orkusz 2021, Payne et al. 2016, Roncolini et al. 2020, Severini et al. 2018, Ventanas et al. 2022, Wessels et al. 2020, Zielińska and Pankiewicz 2020, Zielińska et al. 2021), consumer acceptance attitudes (Aguilar-Miranda et al. 2002, Castro Delgado 2019, Castro and Chambers 2019, Castro et al. 2020, García-Segovia et al. 2020, Meyer-Rochow et al. 2021, Tan et al. 2016, Tzompa-Sosa et al. 2023, Wassmann et al. 2021), marketing (Boukid et al. 2023, Grasso and Bordiga 2023, Krongdang et al. 2023, Larouche et al. 2023, Market Research 2018, Melgar-Lalanne et al. 2019, Meticulous Market Research 2022, Niyonsaba et al. 2021, Reverberi 2021, Shockley and Dossey 2014, Shockley et al. 2017, 2018, Ummara et al. 2023), government regulations (Brickey and Gorham 1989, de-Magistris et al. 2015, Lähteenmäki-Uutela et al. 2017, 2018, 2021, Lotta 2019, Siddiqui et al. 2023) and role of extension program (Ibitoye et al. 2021).
Processing begins with 24-hour fasting to reduce gut content, next insects are sieved to eliminate frass, insects are killed by freezing or heat so as to minimize nutritional losses, they are then dried, cooked or cooled to further reduce microflora (freeze drying can be used to minimize nutritional losses) and modified atmosphere packaging may be used to avoid or retard oxidation of insect lipids (Fraqueza and Patarata 2017). In 2017 Europe, edible insects were becoming as expensive as meat.
The use of edible insects has been investigated as feed for aquacultures (Kierończyk et al. 2022, Liland et al. 2021), chickens (Bovera et al. 2015, Kierończyk et al. 2022, Ramos-Elorduy et al. 2002, Selaledi et al. 2020), pigs (Kierończyk et al. 2022, Veldkamp and Vernooij 2021) and pet dogs and cats (Bosch and Swanson 2021, Kierończyk et al. 2022). Less expensive diet for insect rearing and greater automation should reduce the cost of insect rearing and commercialization of frass as fertilizer could provide additional income (Niyonsaba et al. 2021). Increased market for non-food edible insect products for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and medicine may also benefit insect farming (Ebenebe et al. 2021, Franco et al. 2022, Lenaerts et al. 2019, Van Huis et al. 2022, Verheyen et al. 2023). Sales prices were highest for food, followed by pet food and were lowest for aquafeed. Novel insect may be riskier than familiar ones, food and feed regulations are separate allowing insect usage for feed even when they are not allowed as food and differences in regulations between countries complicate international marketing (Lähteenmäki-Uutela et al. 2021). Kavle et al. (2022) provides bibliometric analysis and current trends of published studies (1953–2021) and Boukid et al. (2023) maps scientific publications and product launches in the global market from 1996-2021 (236 product launches in 24 countries).
The food insects newsletter volume 1-13 was published from 1998 to 2000 (DeFoliart et al. 2009). Dossey et al. 2016 includes chapters on history, farming, processing, food safety, allergies and benefits of edible insects as food and feed. Protein bars made with cricket flour were marketed in 2012 (Shockley et al. 2018). North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA), the first American trade organization dedicated to insects as food and feed, was started in 2016. In 2017, Van Huis and Tomberlin published a 22 chapter book entitled Insects as food and feed: from production to consumption (see book review by Kinyuru 2018 for summary). A book entitled Edible insects in sustainable food systems was published in 2018 (Halloran et al. 2018). Sogari et al. 2019 edited a book entitled Edible Insects in the Food Sector Methods, Current Applications and Perspectives with 8 chapters. A special issue of the journal Food had 20 papers (Jung and Meyer-Rochow 2020) and in 2021, a special issue of Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5) included 30 papers on the production, economics and marketing of insects as food and feed. A book entitled Edible Insects Processing for Food and Feed, from start-up to mass production was published in 2023 (Grasso, and Bordiga 2023).
Conference entitled Insects to feed the world (Van Huis et al. 2015) held 14-17 May 2014 in the Netherlands was the impetus to the launching of this new journal, Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, and by 2023 about 500 papers (10% with mealworms) had been published in this journal (van Huis 2023). A second Insects to feed the world (IFW) conference held in Wuhan, China 15-18 May, 2018 was attended by 278 individuals from 40 nation (Tomberlin et al. 2018). Insects to feed the world conference 2020 and 2022 were held in Québec City, Canada (https://www.entomofago.eu/en/2020/03/02/insects-to-feed-the-world-2020/, https://ifw2022.org/en/program/eating-insects-north).
Program Symposium were included in the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting in San Diego, California in 2010 (Entomophagy Reconsidered: Current Status and Challenges, Potential Directions, and an Invitation to Entomologists, https://www.entsoc.org/entomophagy-reconsidered-entomology-2010)), Portland, Oregon in 2014 (Insects as Sustainable and Innovative Sources of Food and Feed Production), Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2015 (Synergies in entomophagy: Taking insect eating to the next level), Orlando, Florida in 2016 (An Emerging Food Supply: Edible Insects), Denver, Colorado in 2017 (Insects: It’s what’s for dinner) and National Harbor, Maryland in 2023 (Food for Thought: Influences of Global Policy and Implementation on Insects as Food and Feed).
References
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Ewelina Zielińska and Urszula Pankiewicz. 2020.Nutritional, Physiochemical, and Antioxidative Characteristics of Shortcake Biscuits Enriched with Tenebrio molitor Flour. Molecules 25(23), 5629.
Ewelina Zielińska, Urszula Pankiewicz, Monika Sujka. 2021. Nutritional, Physiochemical, and Biological Value of Muffins Enriched with Edible Insects Flour. Antioxidants 10(7) , 1122. mealworm, Tenebrio molitor flours
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García-Segovia, Purificación, Marta Igual, and Javier Martínez-Monzó 2020. Physicochemical Properties and Consumer Acceptance of Bread Enriched with Alternative Proteins. Foods 9(7) , 933. Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) and buffalo worm (Alphitobius diaperinus) powder were purchased from Kreca Ento-Food BV (Ermelo, The Netherlands).
Gere, A., Radványi, D. and Héberger, K. 2019. Which insect species can best be proposed for human consumption? Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 52: 358-367. waxworm larvae (Galleria mellonella), mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), superworms (Zophobas morio larvae)
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Grasso, Simona, and Matteo Bordiga. 2023. Startups. p. 133-154. In Grasso, Simona and Matteo Bordiga eds. Edible Insects Processing for Food and Feed, CRC Press, Boca Raton. Small, nimble, risk-taking entrepreneurs have been paving the way while big companies like Nestle and PepsiCo are gradually entering the market by doing research and development (R&D). Market for edible insects will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 28.3% from 2022 to 2030 and will reach $9.6 billion. List of insect-focused foodtech startups and related nationalities are provided for: 1) snacks and fat and oils sectors, 2) animal feed and aquaculture sector, 3) meal alternatives, and biotechnics and genetics sectors, 4) organic fertilizers and pet food sectors, 5) insect powder and flour, farming and breeding and farm management software sectors and 6) websites for further reading.
Hagstrum, D. W., and Bh. Subramanyam 2009. Stored-Product Insect Resource. AACC International, St. Paul, Minnesota. Page 32 lists 67 species of stored product insects that infest dried insects, often in insect collections, but may also infest edible insects and their products during production, storage and marketing.
Halloran, A., Flore, R., Vantomme, P. and Roos, N. (eds.) 2018. Edible insects in sustainable food systems. Springer, Berlin, Germany
Hernandez-Alvarez, Alan-Javier, Martin Mondor, Irving-Alejandro Pina-Domınguez, Oscar-Abel Sanchez-Velazquez, and Guiomar Melgar Lalanne 2021. Drying technologies for edible insects and their derived ingredients. Drying Technology 39(13): 1991–2009. Alphitobius diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas morio
Houbraken, M., T. Spranghers, P. De Clercq, M. Cooreman-Algoed, T. Couchement, G. De Clercq, S. Verbeke and P. Spanoghe. 2016. Pesticide contamination of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) for human consumption. Food Chem. 201: 264–269. Except for clopyralid, no quantifiable pesticide residues were found in the samples of commercially sold mealworms. Products contaminated with pesticides having a high pesticides excretion are acceptable, provided that a sufficiently long period of food starvation is used before processing the insects for consumption. Products contaminated with pesticide having low excretion are more difficult to include in the insect diet being prone to accumulate. More research is needed in order to accurately determine the importance and magnitude of the different chemical processes involved (e.g. biotransformation and degradation). It is concluded that monitoring pesticide residues in insects for human or animal consumption is advisable as it is demonstrated that accumulation of pesticide residues in Tenebrio is possible.
Ibitoye, Oluwatosin, Cordelia Ebenebe, Maduabuchi Amobi, Tolulope Oyediji, Oluwatosin Ogundele, and Israel Arabanbi. 2021. Edible insects for food and feed in Nigeria: exploring the roles of extension services. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 41: 2287-2296.
Jongema, Yde 2017. List of edible insect species of the world. Wageningen, Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University. (available at https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/plant-sciences/laboratory-of-entomology/edible-insects/worldwide-species-list.htm)
Jung, Chuleui and Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow (eds.) 2020. Edible Insects as Innovative Foods Nutritional, Functional and Acceptability Assessments. Foods 9.
Kavle, Ruchita Rao ; Pritchard, Ellenna Tamsin Maree ; Bekhit, Alaa El-Din Ahmed ; Carne, Alan ; Agyei, Dominic 2022. Edible insects: A bibliometric analysis and current trends of published studies (1953–2021). International journal of tropical insect science 42(5): 3335-3355. Fig 2 cumulative edible insects publications per year. Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas morio, and Alphitobius diaperinus are most studied.
Kelemu, Segenet, S. Niassy, B. Torto, Komi Fiaboe, Hippolyte Affognon, Henri Tonnang, Nguya K. Maniania, and Sunday Ekesi. 2015. African edible insects for food and feed: inventory, diversity, commonalities and contribution to food security. Journal of Insects as food and feed 1(2): 103-119.
Kierończyk, Bartosz, Mateusz Rawski, Zuzanna Mikołajczak, Natalia Homska, Jan Jankowski, Katarzyna Ognik, Agata Józefiak, Jan Mazurkiewicz, and Damian Józefiak. 2022. Available for millions of years but discovered through the last decade: Insects as a source of nutrients and energy in animal diets. Animal Nutrition 11: 60-79
Kinyuru, J.N. 2018. Book review: Insects as food and feed: from production to consumption. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 4(1): 73-74.
Kooh, Pauline, Vanessa Jury, Sophie Laurent, Frédérique Audiat-Perrin, Moez Sanaa, Vincent Tesson, Michel Federighi, and Géraldine Boué 2020. Control of biological hazards in insect processing: Application of HACCP method for yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) powders. Foods 9(11): 1528.
Kröncke, N., Böschen, V., Woyzichovski, J., Demtröder, S. and Benning, R. 2018. Comparison of suitable drying processes for mealworms (Tenebrio molitor). Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 50: 20-25
Krongdang, Sasiprapa, Patcharin Phokasem, Karthikeyan Venkatachalam, and Narin Charoenphun. 2023. Edible Insects in Thailand: An Overview of Status, Properties, Processing, and Utilization in the Food Industry. Foods 12(11), 2162. Table 1 gives edible insects including Tenebrio molitor that are commonly and seasonally marketed and consumed in Thailand including sale price. Figure 5 gives import and export data on edible insects in 2014–2022.
Lähteenmäki-Uutela, A., Grmelová, N., Hénault-Ethier, L., Deschamps, M.-H., Vandenberg, G. W., Zhao, A., Zhang, Y., Yang, B. and Nemane, V. 2017. Insects as food and feed: laws of the European Union, United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and China. European Food and Feed Law Review 12: 22-36.
Lähteenmäki-Uutela, A., Hénault-Ethier, L., Marimuthu, S.B., Talibov, S., Allen, R.N., Nemane, V., Vandenberg, G.W. and Józefiak, D. 2018. The impact of the insect regulatory system on the insect marketing system. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 4: 187-198.
Lähteenmäki-Uutela, Anu, Siva Barathi Marimuthu, and N. Meijer. 2021. Regulations on insects as food and feed: a global comparison. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 849-856. Alphitobius diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor
Larouche, Jennifer, Barbara Campbell, Louise Hénault-Éthier, Ian J. Banks, Jeffery K. Tomberlin, Cheryl Preyer, Marie-Hélène Deschamps, and Grant W. Vandenberg. 2023. The edible insect sector in Canada and the United States. Animal Frontiers 13(4): 16-25. Edible insect markets have been rapidly expanding, since 2015 with an average annual growth in the number of companies of 29% but current regulatory framework in the United States is a complex barrier that can prevent producers from realizing the full potential of frass byproduct from insect rearing. Despite the biological classification of insects as animals, the revamped Canadian Fertilizer Act now excludes insects from the list of animals generating manure. This shift in definition means that the limited sale and export of frass for specified uses currently authorized as “specialty fertilizer” ends as of October 2023, shifting to a requirement for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for approval as an organic fertilizer and soil supplements. There are an estimated 41 insect producers in Canada and 21 in the United States in 2022. Twenty two companies in Canada and one in the United States offer insect-based products. Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), the lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) considered nonnovel food (history of safe consumption demonstrated) in Canada.
Lenaerts, M., Meersman, F., Verheyen, G.R. and Van Miert, S., 2019. Consumer perception of insects in non-food products. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 5: 321-331
Lesnik, JJ 2017. Not just a fallback food: global patterns of insect consumption related to geography, not agriculture. American Journal of Human Biology e22976
Liland, N.S., P. Araujo, X.X. Xu, E.-J. Lock, G. Radhakrishnan, A.J.P. Prabhu, and I. Belghit 2021. A meta-analysis on the nutritional value of insects in aquafeeds. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 743–759.
Lotta, Francesca 2019. Insects as Food: The Legal Framework. p. 105-118. In Sogari, Giovanni, Cristina Mora, and Davide Menozzi eds. Edible Insects in the Food Sector: Methods, Current Applications and Perspectives. Springer, Cham
Mandrile, Luisa, Ilaria Fusaro, Giuseppina Amato, Daniela Marchis, Gianmario Martra, and Andrea Mario Rossi. 2018. Detection of insect’s meal in compound feed by Near Infrared spectral imaging. Food chemistry 267: 240-245. Tenebrio molitor
Market Research 2018. Edible insects market – global market study on edible insects: consumption of insects as a whole to gain maximum traction during 2017-2024. Market Research, New York, NY, USA. Available at: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/edible-insects-market.asp. The market trend shows that there has been an estimated increase in the selling price of edible insects during last few years, and the global market for insects is expected to reach US$ 220 million by 2024
Megido, R.C., Desmedt, S., Blecker, C., Béra, F., Haubruge, É., Alabi, T. and Francis, F. 2017. Microbiological load of edible insects found in Belgium. Insects 8, 12. Tenebrio molitor
Melgar-Lalanne, G., Hernandez-Alvarez, A.J. and Salinas-Castro, A. 2019. Edible insects processing: Traditional and innovative technologies. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 18: 1166-1191. Alphitobius diaperinus (buffalo worms), Tenebrio molitor (mealworms) Websearch for edible insect commercial brands/companies and their marketed product.
Meticulous Market Research 2022. Edible insects market by product (whole insect, insect powder, insect meal, insect oil), insect type (crickets, black soldier fly, mealworms), application (animal feed, protein bar and shakes, bakery, confectionery, beverages), and geography – forecast to 2030. https://www.meticulousresearch.com/pressrelease/184/edible-insects-market-2030.
Meyer-Rochow, Victor Benno, Ruparao T. Gahukar, Sampat Ghosh, and Chuleui Jung. 2021. Chemical composition, nutrient quality and acceptability of edible insects are affected by species, developmental stage, gender, diet, and processing method. Foods 10(5): 1036. Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas morio
Mitsuhashi, Jun. 2021. Edible insects of the world. 2nd edition. CRC press.
Morales-Ramos, J.A., Kelstrup, H.C., Rojas, M.G. and Emery, V., 2019. Body mass increase induced by eight years of artificial selection in the yellow mealworm (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and life history trade-offs. Journal of Insect Science 19(2), 4.
Niyonsaba, H.H., J. Höhler, J. Kooistra, H.J. Van der Fels-Klerx and M.P.M. Meuwissen 2021. Profitability of insect farms. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 923-934. Economic cost of insect production needed by farmers aiming to start insect farms, by banks seeking to provide financing, and by governments planning policy interventions are provided for Tenebrio molitor. Profit margin range for Alphitobius diaperinus cannot be estimated due to a lack of data in the literature. For T. molitor, differences in sales prices with geographical market location, type of market (feed or food) and quantity sold determined profit margin.
Orkusz, Agnieszka. 2021. Edible insects versus meat—Nutritional comparison: Knowledge of their composition is the key to good health. Nutrients 13(4): 1207. house cricket larvae and adults (Acheta domesticus), field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus adult), mealworm larvae and adults (Tenebrio molitor), superworm larvae (Zophobas morio), waxworm larvae (Galleria mellonella), silkworm larvae (Bombyx mori), and mopane caterpillar larvae (Gonimbrasia belina), which are now commercially available worldwide
Payne, C. L., P. Scarborough, M. Rayner, and K. Nonaka. 2016. Are edible insects more or less ‘healthy’ than commonly consumed meats? A comparison using two nutrient profiling models developed to combat over- and undernutrition. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 70: 285–291.
Ramos-Elorduy, J., E. Avila Gonzalez, A. Rocha Hernandez, and J. M. Pino. 2002. Use of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) to Recycle Organic Wastes and as Feed for Broiler Chickens. Journal of Economic Entomology 95: 214–220.
Reverberi, M. 2021. The new packaged food products containing insects as an ingredient. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 901-908 Insect food products have been on market for 10 years.
Ribeiro, J. C., B. Sousa-Pinto, J. Fonseca, S. Caldas Fonseca, and L. M. Cunha. 2021. Edible insects and food safety: allergy. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 833-847. Alphitobius diaperinus,Galleria mellonella,Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas morio
Ribeiro, Nuno, Manuela Abelho, and Rui Costa 2018. A review of the scientific literature for optimal conditions for mass rearing Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). J. Entomol. Sci. 53, 434–454. Our review identified that: (a) the optimum temperature for T. molitor growth is 25–288C; (b) T. molitor larval growth rate is greatest at >70% relative humidity (RH) with an optimum range between 60–75% RH, and; (c) optimal growth is achieved with diets containing 5–10% yeast, 80–85% carbohydrate, and the addition of B-complex vitamins.
Rigopoulou, Marianna, Christos Rumbos, and Christos Athanassiou. 2023a. Evaluation of the susceptibility of Alphitobius diaperinus meal to infestations by major stored-product beetle species. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 30: 73628–73635. A. diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor, Trogoderma granarium, Lasioderma serricorne, Tribolium confusum, and Tribolium castaneum) were able to infest pure A. diaperinus meal, and S. oryzae; S. granarius; C. maculatus, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Rhyzopertha dominica, Prostephanus truncatus, Cryptolestes ferrugineus are not.
Rigopoulou, M., C. I. Rumbos, and C. G. Athanassiou. 2023b. Population Growth of Three Stored Product Beetle Species on Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Meals (Alphitobius diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor, Tribolium castaneum). Journal of Economic Entomology 116(2): 621–626.
Roncolini, Andrea, Vesna Milanović, Lucia Aquilanti, Federica Cardinali, Cristiana Garofalo, Riccardo Sabbatini, Francesca Clementi, Luca Belleggia, Marina Pasquini, Massimo Mozzon, Roberta Foligni, Maria Federica Trombetta, M. Naceur Haouet, M. Serena Altissimi, Sara Di Bella, Arianna Piersanti, Francesco Griffoni, Anna Reale, Serena Niro, Andrea Osimani. 2020. Lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) powder as a novel baking ingredient for manufacturing high-protein, mineral-dense snacks. Food Research International 131, 109031.
Rossi, Giacomo, Shikha Ojha, Namrata Pathak, Pramod Mahajan, and Oliver K. Schlüter 2023. Storage and Packaging of Edible Insects. In Edible Insects Processing for Food and Feed, pp. 261-276. CRC Press
Rumbos, C. I., D. Bliamplias, V. Michail, and C. G. Athanassiou. 2021a. Rearing Tenebrio molitor and Alphitobius diaperinus Larvae on Seed Cleaning Process Byproducts. Insects 12, 293.
Rumbos, C.I., D.G.A.B. Oonincx, I.T. Karapanagiotidis, M. Vrontaki, M. Gourgouta, A. Asimaki, E. Mente, and C.G. Athanassiou. 2021b. Agricultural By-Products from Greece as Feed for Yellow Mealworm Larvae: Circular Economy at a Local Level. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 8(1): 9–22.
Rumbos, C.I., M. Rigopoulou, and C.G. Athanassiou. 2020. Are Insect Meals Prone to Insect Infestation during Storage? Development of Major Storage Insects on Substrates Based on Tenebrio molitor Larvae Meal. Journal of Pest Science 93 (4): 1359–1367.
Selaledi, L., C. A. Mbajiorgu, M. Mabelebele 2020. The use of yellow mealworm (T. molitor) as alternative source of protein in poultry diets: a review. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 52(1): 7-16.
Severini, C., D. Azzollini, M. Albenzio, and A. Derossi 2018. On printability, quality and nutritional properties of 3D printed cereal based snacks enriched with edible insects. Food Research International 106: 666-676. yellow mealworms, Tenebrio molitor
Shockley, M., and A. T. Dossey. 2014. Insects for human consumption, pp. 617–652. In J. A. Morales-Ramos, D. I. Shapiro-Ilan, and M. G. Rojas (eds.), Mass production of beneficial organisms, invertebrates and entomopathogens. Academic Press, Waltham, MA.
Shockley M, Allen RN, and Gracer D 2017. Product development and promotion. p. 399-427. In A Van Huis and J. K. Tomberlin eds. Insects as food and feed: from production to consumption. Wageningen Academic Publisher
Shockley, M., Lesnik, J., Nathan Allen, R. and Fonseca Munõs, A., 2018. Edible insects and their uses in North America; past, present and future. In: Halloran, A., Flore, R., Vantomme, P. and Roos, N. (eds.) Edible insects in sustainable food systems. Springer, Berlin, Germany, pp. 55-78. Prior to 2012, no farms in North America grew insects specifically for food. There were however many farms growing insects, especially crickets and mealworms, for use as feeding to pets and fishing bait. Entomophagy is gaining traction in North America.
Siddiqui, Shahida Anusha, Elizabeth Tettey, Bello Mohammed Yunusa, Norhayati Ngah, Shadrack Kwaku Debrah, Xi Yang, Ito Fernando, Sergey Nikolaevich Povetkin, and Mohd Asif Shah. 2023. Legal situation and consumer acceptance of insects being eaten as human food in different nations across the world–A comprehensive review. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 2023, 1–45.
Sindermann, D., J. Heidhues, S. Kirchner, N. Stadermann and A. Kühl 2021. Industrial processing technologies for insect larvae. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 857-875
Sogari, Giovanni, Cristina Mora, and Davide Menozzi 2019. Edible Insects in the Food Sector Methods, Current Applications and Perspectives. Springer, Cham
Stull, V.J. 2021. Impacts of insect consumption on human health. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 695-713. Alphitobius diaperinus, Galleria mellonella, Tenebrio molitor
Sun, He, Ornella Necochea Velazco, Catriona Lakemond, Matthijs Dekker, Lee Cadesky, and Maryia Mishyna. 2021. Differences in moisture sorption characteristics and browning of lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) ingredients. Food Science and Technology (LWT), 142, 110989.
Tan, H. S. G., van den Berg, E., & Stieger, M. 2016. The influence of product preparation, familiarity and individual traits on the consumer acceptance of insects as food. Food Quality and Preference, 52, 222–231. Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larvae) are available for human consumption in Dutch supermarkets
Tao, J., and Li, Y. O. 2018. Edible insects as a means to address global malnutrition and food insecurity issues. Food Quality and Safety 2: 17–26.
Tomberlin, J. K., L. Zheng, and A. Van Huis. 2018. Insects to feed the world conference 2018. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 4(2): 75-76.
Tzompa-Sosa, Daylan Amelia, Roberta Moruzzo, Simone Mancini, Joachim Jietse Schouteten, Aijun Liu, Jie Li, and Giovanni Sogari. 2023. Consumers’ acceptance toward whole and processed mealworms: A cross-country study in Belgium, China, Italy, Mexico, and the US. Plos one 18(1): e0279530. Entomophagy tradition is mainly explained the differences among countries. Across countries, the acceptance of including processed mealworms was higher compared to whole mealworms.
Ummara, Umm E., Aqsa Riaz, Waqar Majeed, Sobia Kanwal, Ayesha Parveen, Tehrim Liaqat, Kaynaat Akbar, Iffa Maryam, Aqsa Shareef, and Uzma Ramzan. 2023. Market Potential and Statistics on Current Insect Consumption as Food. p. 277-304. In Grasso, Simona and Matteo Bordiga eds. Edible Insects Processing for Food and Feed, CRC Press, Boca Raton. Market strategies, and analysis of insect consumption and the species list for Asia, Europe, the United States and Africa
Vandeweyer, Dries, Jeroen De Smet, Noor Van Looveren, and Leni Van Campenhout. 2021. Biological contaminants in insects as food and feed. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 807-822. yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus)
Van Itterbeeck, Joost, and Laurent Pelozuelo 2022. How many edible insect species are there? A not so simple question. Diversity 14(2), 143.
Van Huis, A. 2013. Potential of insects as food and feed in assuring food security. Annual Review of Entomology 58: 563-583.
Van Huis, A. 2022. Edible insects: Non-food and non-feed industrial applications. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 8(5): 447-450.
Van Huis, A. 2023. Increasing academic interest in edible insects: the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. Journal of insects as food and feed 9(1): 1-2 (Tenebrio)
Van Huis, A., M. Dicke and J. J.A. van Loon 2015. Insects to feed the world. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 1(1): 3-5. The 450 people from 45 countries attending the conference showed the worldwide interest insects as an alternative source of proteins and other nutrients.
Veldkamp, T. and A.G. Vernooij 2021. Use of insect products in pig diets. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 781–793.
Ventanas, Sonia, Alberto González-Mohino, Lary Souza Olegario, and Mario Estévez. 2022. Newbie consumers try pizzas in which bacon is replaced by Tenebrio molitor L. larvae: Not as healthy as expected and not as terrible as they thought. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science 29, 100553.
Verheyen, G. R., Meersman, F., Noyens, I., Goossens, S., & Van Miert, S. 2023. The application of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) oil in cosmetic formulations. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology, 125(3), 2200193
Wassmann, B., M. Siegrist and C. Hartmann 2021. Correlates of the willingness to consume insects: a meta-analysis. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 7(5): 909-922.
Wessels, M. L. J., D. Azzollini, and V. Fogliano. 2020. Frozen storage of lesser mealworm larvae (Alphitobius diaperinus) changes chemical properties and functionalities of the derived ingredients. Food chemistry 320, 126649
Wynants, E.; Crauwels, S.; Verreth, C.; Gianotten, N.; Lievens, B.; Claes, J.; Van Campenhout, L. 2018. Microbial dynamics during production of lesser mealworms (Alphitobius diaperinus) for human consumption at industrial scale. Food Microbiol. 70: 181–191.
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