Pesticide contamination of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) for human consumption

Michael Houbraken; Thomas Spranghers; Patrick De Clercq; Margot Cooreman-Algoed; Tasmien Couchement; Griet De Clercq; Sarah Verbeke; Pieter Spanoghe

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.01.097

Pesticide contamination of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) for human consumption

Food Chem. 2016 Jun 15:201:264-9. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.01.097. Epub 2016 Jan 22.

Authors

Michael Houbraken¹, Thomas Spranghers², Patrick De Clercq³, Margot Cooreman-Algoed⁴, Tasmien Couchement⁵, Griet De Clercq⁶, Sarah Verbeke⁷, Pieter Spanoghe⁸

Affiliations

¹ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Michael.houbraken@ugent.be.
² Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Thomas.spranghers@ugent.be.
³ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Patrick.declercq@ugent.be.
⁴ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Margot.Cooreman@ugent.be.
⁵ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Tasmien.Couchement@ugent.be.
⁶ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Griet.declercq@ugent.be.
⁷ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Sarah.Verbeke@ugent.be.
⁸ Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Pieter.spanoghe@ugent.be.

PMID: 26868575
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.01.097

Abstract

The use of pesticides contributes to the productivity and the quality of the cultivated crop. A large portion of the agricultural produce is not consumed as it is not an edible part or the quality of the product is too low. This waste of agricultural produce can be valorised as a substrate for the production of certain insects for human consumption. However, pesticides applied on the plants might accumulate during the life cycle of the insects fed on the waste materials and may cause a health risk to humans consuming the insects. Pesticide residues in larvae of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor, were investigated. We monitored the accumulation of pesticides in the larvae upon consumption of contaminated fresh produce. An increased uptake rate by the insects was found for pesticides with higher Kow-values. Excretion of pesticides by the insect was inversely related to the log(Kow) values of the pesticides.

Keywords: Agricultural produce; Human consumption; Insects; Pesticide.

MeSH terms

Animals
Food, Fortified / analysis*
Human Coprophagia
Humans
Insecta / chemistry*
Pesticides / chemistry*
Tenebrio / chemistry*

Substances

Pesticides