Thursday, October 27, 2016

Don’t bug me! Looking at entomophagy.

                                               Photo Credit: American Chemical Society

Maintaining a sustainable food source is an increasing problem around the world. Food diversification that does not contribute to further damage to ecosystems is a priority. Consumption of insects (entomophagy), has been the focus of a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Insects can provide protein comparable to meat and fish in human diets, as well as provide fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Examination shows that iron levels from eating insects, can be higher than those found in beef.

Researchers studied grasshopper, cricket, mealworms and buffalo worms to analyze the potential benefits to human consumption. 

You can read the full study at:


Gladys O. Latunde-Dada, Wenge Yang, Mayra Vera Aviles. In Vitro Iron Availability from Insects and Sirloin Beef. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03286

There is a short overview also available at Science Daily here (photo taken from this blog)

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