Microbiological analysis of raw edible insects
In: Journal of Insects as Food and FeedSearch for other papers by N.T. Grabowski in
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Relatively little is known about the microbiological quality of edible insects. In Germany, living insects are also bought from pet shops, rededicating thus a feedstuff to a foodstuff. A preliminary survey was conducted to assess the microbiological quality of these animals. Samples of raw insects (Acheta domesticus, Gryllus assimilis, Gryllus bimaculatus, Locusta migratoria, Blabtica dubia, Galleria mellonella, Chilecomadia moorei, Pachnoda marginata, Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas atratus, andApis mellifera) from pet shops were analysed using classical food hygiene parameters (total aerobial mesophilic bacterial count (TBC),Enterobacteriaceae count (EC), staphylococci (SC), bacilli (BC), yeasts and moulds counts (YMC), salmonellae,Escherichia coli, andListeria monocytogenes). They were also inoculated on blood agar for specific microbial identification. Merged samples were taken from living animals (n=39), dead ones (n=7), and the bedding material (n=16) of the boxes they were sold in. Geometric means per species variedbetween 5.7 and 7.5 (TBC), 5.5 and 7.3 (EC), ≤6.1 (SC), ≤5.6 (YMC), and 3.5 and 7.2 lg cfu/g (BC), each displaying a individual microbial pattern. Dead animal values ranged above those of living ones, while bedding materials’ values could be higher or lower. From blood agar plates, coagulase-negative staphylococci,Enterobacteriaceae (typicallyProteus spp. andSerratia liquefaciens), pseudomonads and fungi (e.g.Candida albicans, Issatchenkia orientalis, Geotrichum spp.) were isolated. All samples were free of salmonellae,E. coli,L. monocytogenes, andStaphylococcus aureus, complying thus with the food hygiene criteria recently issued by Belgium and the Netherlands. Process hygiene criteria however were not met entirely due to elevated TBC and EC. These high bacterial counts and the presence of many (opportunistic) pathogenic and spoiling agents found also typically in other foodstuffs create the need to heat insects thoroughly before consumption.
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Microbiological analysis of raw edible insects
In: Journal of Insects as Food and FeedSearch for other papers by N.T. Grabowski in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by G. Klein in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Relatively little is known about the microbiological quality of edible insects. In Germany, living insects are also bought from pet shops, rededicating thus a feedstuff to a foodstuff. A preliminary survey was conducted to assess the microbiological quality of these animals. Samples of raw insects (Acheta domesticus, Gryllus assimilis, Gryllus bimaculatus, Locusta migratoria, Blabtica dubia, Galleria mellonella, Chilecomadia moorei, Pachnoda marginata, Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas atratus, andApis mellifera) from pet shops were analysed using classical food hygiene parameters (total aerobial mesophilic bacterial count (TBC),Enterobacteriaceae count (EC), staphylococci (SC), bacilli (BC), yeasts and moulds counts (YMC), salmonellae,Escherichia coli, andListeria monocytogenes). They were also inoculated on blood agar for specific microbial identification. Merged samples were taken from living animals (n=39), dead ones (n=7), and the bedding material (n=16) of the boxes they were sold in. Geometric means per species variedbetween 5.7 and 7.5 (TBC), 5.5 and 7.3 (EC), ≤6.1 (SC), ≤5.6 (YMC), and 3.5 and 7.2 lg cfu/g (BC), each displaying a individual microbial pattern. Dead animal values ranged above those of living ones, while bedding materials’ values could be higher or lower. From blood agar plates, coagulase-negative staphylococci,Enterobacteriaceae (typicallyProteus spp. andSerratia liquefaciens), pseudomonads and fungi (e.g.Candida albicans, Issatchenkia orientalis, Geotrichum spp.) were isolated. All samples were free of salmonellae,E. coli,L. monocytogenes, andStaphylococcus aureus, complying thus with the food hygiene criteria recently issued by Belgium and the Netherlands. Process hygiene criteria however were not met entirely due to elevated TBC and EC. These high bacterial counts and the presence of many (opportunistic) pathogenic and spoiling agents found also typically in other foodstuffs create the need to heat insects thoroughly before consumption.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1054 | 309 | 23 |
| Full Text Views | 80 | 11 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 157 | 28 | 3 |
