Insects Fed with Former Foodstuffs for Feed Production: What Are the Risks to Public and Animal Health?

Introduction: The need for proteins for human food and animal feed has increased over the last decades and will further, greatly increase in the future; that is why there is a growing focus on less traditional sources of protein, such as cultured insects. Insects are a sustainable protein source, in particular, when using organic residues and waste streams to feed them.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was 1) to assess the risks of the use of insects that were reared on a substrate composed of former foodstuffs as raw material for feed for food-producing animals to animal and public health and 2) to indicate measures to control these risks.

Methods: A literature review aimed at insect species that are suitable for large-scale production, on substrates derived from organic residues and waste streams, was performed. The production of the insects as feed was approached as a chain, where the chemical and microbiological risks were assessed for each step of the production process.

Results: The health risks that are associated with the use of animal feed derived from insects that are reared on former foodstuffs are determined, almost exclusively, by pathogenic microorganisms. The most important critical control point in the production process is the last step, the processing of the insects to the final product.

Significance: When appropriate measures to prevent microbiological contamination of insects are taken, the feeding of food-producing animals with feed derived from insects that were reared on a substrate composed of former foodstuffs posed no health risks for these animals or for humans consuming products from these animals.