Sections
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Food Neophobia and Aversion to Insect Consumption
- Farming Edible Insects
- Traditional Cooking
- Processing Technologies
- Commercialization of Edible Insects
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgment
- Author Contributions
- Conflict of Interest
Abstract
Insects are part of the human diet in many parts of the world. Their nutritional value is widely recognized. Currently, most edible insects are harvested from the wild, although semi‐domestication and indoor farming have increased insect availability and the sustainability of production. In traditional cultures, insects are processed in a number of ways (steaming, roasting, smoking, frying, stewing, and curing, among others) to improve their sensory and nutritional qualities as well as their shelf‐life. In order to increase consumer interest in the West, various technologies have been developed that are aimed primarily at using insects as ingredients in a non‐recognizable form, such as powders or flour. These technologies include drying (sun‐drying, freeze‐drying, oven‐drying, fluidized bed drying, and microwave‐drying) and new processing methods (ultrasound‐assisted extraction, cold atmospheric pressure plasma, and dry fractionation) designed mainly for protein, fat, and/or chitin extraction. Insect‐based ingredients are sold for the production of cookies, chocolates, tortilla‐style chips, and other snacks. This review focuses on edible insect production, processing technologies, and commercialization using strategies ranging from traditional to novel as a sustainable approach for improving food security worldwide.
Introduction
Nearly 2.5 billion people in the world currently supplement their diet with insects (Van Huis, 2016). Edible insects are mostly consumed in tropical regions, which have high levels of biodiversity, suggesting that ecological factors related to the abundance of insect species have influenced consumption patterns (Lesnik, 2017). In most parts of Europe, and among non‐aboriginal Americans, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders, entomophagy remains rare or even a taboo (Shelomi, 2015). Whereas in the Western World, people tend to associate insects with plagues and health risks, in tropical countries, they are part of culinary traditions, mostly in rural areas. People in many parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America consume whole insects in a perfectly recognizable form, either as snacks or as part of their daily diet. Insects are usually boiled and dried, toasted, or fried before being incorporated into different dishes.
Conclusions
New food processing technologies are required to formulate functional ingredients and snacks in whole and recognizable forms, in order to promote entomophagy. The benefits of increasing insect consumption have been widely explored, but not the technological and processing approaches that can help achieve this goal. Early adopters, mostly the younger generation, are the main population segment that should be targeted to change negative attitudes toward insect consumption. Young people are demanding products that look different from those currently incorporated into daily meals and snacks (for example, burgers and cookies) and are somewhat interested in healthy and ethnic foods. The consumption of whole insects is the main issue that needs to be addressed in the short term, possibly through offerings such as snacks and energy bars. Some insect‐based ingredients have substantial potential owing to their nutritional characteristics and functional properties in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products. For instance, protein concentrates and/or isolates derived from insects have high foaming and emulsifying properties, as well as other techno‐functional capacities. Insects are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and have a high ώ‐3/ώ‐6 ratio. The chitin composition of insects is similar to that of shrimp, making them a feasible and sustainable option for replacing some currently available functional ingredients. These aspects should be a focus of future research and technological development.
Acknowledgment
This research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not‐for‐profit sectors. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Martin Mondor of Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, in Saint‐Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, for his comments and support, as well as Chef Mario Melgarejo Piñón for kindly providing the pictures for Figure 2.
Author Contributions
Melgar‐Lalanne and Hernández‐Álvarez collected most of the data, wrote the draft manuscript, and suggested the original idea for this review. Salinas‐Castro collected and reviewed the data for the insect farming section. All of the authors reviewed the entire document and approved the final version.