Impact of Killing and Processing Conditions on Edible Insect Quality for Food Applications
A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editor
Interests: Edible insects; Biodegradable materials; Wastewater treatment; Insects as bioindicators; Biodegradation and valorization of waste; Insects in circular economy; Eco-toxicological assessment; Environmental sustainabil-ity; Biopolymers and agro-industrial residues
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Edible insects have gained global attention as a sustainable, nutritious, and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional animal protein sources. However, the post-harvest handling of these organisms—including slaughter methods, processing techniques, and storage conditions—plays a critical role in determining their final quality, safety, sensory properties, and nutritional value.
This Special Issue aims to explore the influence of slaughter and processing parameters on the quality of edible insects for food applications. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the physiological and biochemical responses of insects to slaughter, the impact of thermal and non-thermal processing on nutritional, technological, and microbiological profiles, the optimization of insect preservation methods, regulatory considerations, and consumer acceptance of processing techniques.
We invite contributions that provide scientific insights, technological advances, and regulatory perspectives on how post-harvest processes affect the quality and safety of edible insects, supporting their integration into the human food chain.
We look forward to your valuable contributions.
Prof. Dr. Sibele Santos Fernandes
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- edible insects
- killing methods
- post-harvest processing
- nutritional quality
- processing technologies
- insect-based foods
- drying kinetics
- insect processing
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