Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Sep;19(5):2747-2763.
doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12609.

Why for feed and not for human consumption? The black soldier fly larvae

Leah W Bessa  1 , Elsje Pieterse  1 , Jeannine Marais  2 , Louwrens C Hoffman  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Why for feed and not for human consumption? The black soldier fly larvae

Leah W Bessa et al. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

With the surge in consumption of insects, the search continues to find ways to increase the popularity of insect-based products in the Western world. The black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), which is mainly utilized for animal feed, has great potential to provide a sustainable source of nutrients for human food. This review aims to discuss some of the key benefits and challenges of BSFL and their potential role as a food ingredient and/or product for human consumption. Few articles specifically discuss BSFL as a food source, therefore a comprehensive literature search strategy consisted of collecting and evaluating published data about BSFL as animal feed that could be relevant to its use in food. The hurdles that need to be overcome in order to introduce BSFL as a viable food option include safety concerns, technofunctional properties, nutritional aspects, consumer attitudes, and product applications for BSFL.

Keywords: Hermetia illucens; black soldier fly larvae; food safety; functionality; insects as food; protein alternative.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Adebowale, Y., Adeyemi, I., & Oshodi, A. (2005). Functional and physicochemical properties of flours of six Mucuna species. African Journal of Biotechnology, 4(12), 1461-1468.
    1. Alemu, M. H., & Olsen, S. B. (2018). Kenyan consumers’ experience of using edible insects as food and their preferences for selected insect-based food products. In A. Halloran, R. Flore, P. Vantomme, & N. Roos (Eds.), Edible insects in sustainable food systems (pp. 363-374). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
    1. Amarender, R. V., Bhargava, K., Dossey, A. T., & Gamagedara, S. (2020). Lipid and protein extraction from edible insects-Crickets (Gryllidae). Food Science and Technology, 109222(125). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.109222
    1. Banjo, A. D., Lawal, O. A., & Adeyemi, A. I. (2006). The microbial fauna associated with the larvae of Oryctes monocerus. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 2(11), 837-843.
    1. Banks, I. J., Gibson, W. T., & Cameron, M. M. (2014). Growth rates of black soldier fly larvae fed on fresh human faeces and their implication for improving sanitation. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 19(1), 14-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.12228

LinkOut - more resources