Flavor of edible insects and insect proteins

Abstract: Overpopulation, water scarcity, farmland shortage, and climate change have greatly affected global food production. Shifting towards more sustainable food and protein sources is a recommended strategy for sustaining the food system within environmental limits. Edible insects have great potential as a novel protein source due to their optimal nutritional value, high feed conversion efficiency, low environmental footprint, and ability to be reared on agricultural waste materials. Although insect consumption has been commonly practiced in many cultures, consumer acceptance in western countries remains low. Flavor is an important factor that affects consumer acceptance of this novel food. However, understanding the flavor profile of edible insects is complicated by the large number of edible insect species, the different food processing conditions, and the varied analytical techniques. Volatile compounds of edible insects vary considerably among different species and developmental stages. In addition, food processing has a major effect on the flavor development of edible insect products. Characterizing flavor profiles of different edible insects and understanding how it is affected by food processing conditions are thus important for product formulation. So far, flavors of only a few edible insects have been reported. Flavor characterization of insect protein is even more scarce. Isolated insect proteins are better accepted by consumers as a food ingredient than whole insects. The flavors of insect proteins are affected by the protein isolation process. Understanding the insect protein-flavor interactions is important for developing products with desirable flavor characteristics. This presentation will provide an overview and recent updates of the flavor chemistry of edible insects.