MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF DEFATTED BLACK SOLDIER FLY LARVAE (BSFL) MEAL

Abstract

In the past few years, the growing food crisis has increased the demand for alternative foods and feeds with minimal negative environmental impact. To a large extent, insects and their products meet this demand. At the same time, insect farming is gaining more and more popularity as part of the food industry for the production of high–quality feed materials for animals. In the European Union, one of the permitted and most commonly used insect species is the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens). The final products obtained from BSF larvae are a source of essential nutrients and successfully replace traditional feeds. Concerning the quality and safety of feed raw materials, in the present study the chemical composition and some microbiological parameters were determined in different batches of BSF insect meal. The results showed that all the tested batches of BSFL meal were excellent protein sources. The presence of Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella spp., and Clostridium perfringens was not found in any of the examined samples.