Microbial and chemical food safety risks associated with the rearing of insects

The use of insects in food and feed is of increasing importance in Belgium and Europe. Although outside Europe, there is a long tradition in safe use of insec ts, these practices can not be transferred to Europe, especially because of the large scale rearing that is required to give insects a substantial position in food chain. The substrate and the conditions used for rearing (hygiene, good practices) may have a crucial impact on the food safety of the insects. In this s project, both the microbiological and chemical hazards related to rearing con ditions will be evaluated. For this purpose, four combinations of substrates an d insects will be examined. Throught his choice, several life stages of insects will be evaluated, together with a wide range of substrates, which will have a different impact on the food and feed safety of the reared insects.

Keywords:Insects, Food safety, Microbiological, hazards, Chemical hazards, Rearing, Good practices

Disciplines:Animal biology