Insects as Food and Feed: Opportunities and Risks

Dear Colleagues,

The irruption of edible insects aimed at food and feed in Europe is indisputable. With Acheta domesticus as the third insect species being recently authorized for food by the European Commission after the previous approval of Tenebrio molitor and Locusta migratoria, the increased agricultural production of insects seems unstoppable. Edible insects are increasingly demonstrating the benefits they offer in terms of macro- and micronutrients, health-related effects and a low environmental impact (emissions, land and water use). The rearing of insects aimed at feed and food is also showing incredible market opportunities never explored before in many European countries. However, other aspects related to allergenicity, microbial risks, consumer acceptability, the best conditions for insect rearing, composition of the diet of insects and the impact of the different technological processing on the quality of insect products, among others, remain to be fully elucidated. Additionally, the potential of edible insects for animal feeding, while promising, still shows contradictory results and issues to be resolved—for example, the best edible species for the different species of livestock, the most adequate replacement level of traditional ingredients in feeds by insect meals, or the impact on productive parameters and animal health. This Special Issue will highlight the latest research focused on the convenience of insects for food and feed in the widest sense, but also on limitations that still need to be overcome for the consolidation of insects as a valuable alternative to other traditional food and feed sources.

Dr. Joaquín Navarro del Hierro
Dr. Diana Martín
Guest Editors

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