title: Microbiology of cooked and dried edible Mediterranean field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) and superworms (Zophobas atratus) submitted to four different heating treatments.
abstract: To increase the shelf life of edible insects, modern techniques (e.g. freeze-drying) add to the traditional methods (degutting, boiling, sun-drying or roasting). However, microorganisms become inactivated rather than being killed, and when rehydrated, many return to vegetative stadia. Crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) and superworms (Zophobas atratus) were submitted to four different drying techniques (T1 = 10' cooking, 24 h drying at 60℃; T2 = 10' cooking, 24 h drying at 80℃; T3 = 30' cooking, 12 h drying at 80℃, and 12 h drying at 100℃; T4 = boiling T3-treated insects after five days) and analysed for total bacteria counts, Enterobacteriaceae, staphylococci, bacilli, yeasts and moulds counts, E. coli, salmonellae, and Listeria monocytogenes (the latter three being negative throughout). The microbial counts varied strongly displaying species- and treatment-specific patterns. T3 was the most effective of the drying treatments tested to decrease all counts but bacilli, for which T2 was more efficient. Still, total bacteria counts remained high (G. bimaculatus > Z. atratus). Other opportunistically pathogenic microorganisms (Bacillus thuringiensis, B. licheniformis, B. pumilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Cryptococcus neoformans) were also encountered. The tyndallisation-like T4 reduced all counts to below detection limit, but nutrients leakage should be considered regarding food quality. In conclusion, species-specific drying procedures should be devised to ensure food safety.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, Hannover University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany Nils.Grabowski@tiho-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Nils Th
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Grabowski
authors.affiliation: Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, Hannover University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000069976:Bacillus licheniformis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000069979:Bacillus pumilus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003890:Desiccation; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005511:Food Handling; D005516:Food Microbiology; D059022:Food Safety; D006135:Gryllidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000382:microbiology*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification
keywords: Entomophagy; food safety; insect processing; total bacterial counts