Inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Sumatra are faced with the problem of insufficient food supplies and the consequent risk of undernourishment and health issues. Edible insects as a traditional and readily available food source could be part of the solution. The nutritional value of insects depends on many factors, e.g., species, developmental stage, sex, diet, and climatic conditions. However, edible insects bred in Sumatra for human consumption have never before been assessed with regard to their nutritional value. Our study involved analyses of crude protein, chitin, fat and selected fatty acid contents of giant mealworm larvae (Zophobas morio), larvae of the common mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and nymphs of the field cricket (Gryllus assimilis). Crude protein content in the samples ranged from 46% to 56%. Highest (35%) and lowest (31%) amounts of fat were recorded in giant mealworm larvae and larvae of the common mealworm, respectively. Chitin amounts ranged from 6% to 13%. Based on these values, which are comparable to those known from other food insects reared in different regions of the world, the edible species bred in Sumatra could become food sources with a potential to help stave off hunger and undernourishment.

Since 2002, when the first lecture on entomophagy took place at Mendel University in Brno, till today, participants of these educational lectures were asked to fill questionnaires in order to evaluate interest in entomophagy in Czech Republic and pick suitable species. Analyses of nutritional value of selected species were also performed during this time. The questionnaire was divided into several parts - suitable species, sensory properties, difficulty of breeding and processing and respondents own attitude to the consumption of insect species. For the purpose of this study the questionnaire was evaluated using the semantic differential, so to create a comprehensive picture of each insect species. Based on evaluation of more than 5,000 questionnaires, certain developmental stages of seven species of insect were selected for further evaluation: Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae, Zophobas morio (ZM) larvae, Gryllus assimillis (GA) nymphs, Locusta migratoria (LM) nymphs, Galleria mellonella (GM) larvae, Bombyx mori (BM) Pupa, Apis mellifera (AM) bee brood, while cockroaches were completely excluded for use in entomophagy. Although they are easy to breed and are available all year-round, consumers showed relatively great disgust. For all of these species, basic nutritional values were analysed, as well as content of amino acids and fattty acids. All parameters were statistically evaluated using ANOVA-1. Each species appears to be suitable for entomophagy for a different reason. Generally speaking, AM, TM and GA were best accepted considering the sensory aspect, nutritional values are interesting especially in BM and GM and TM wins with simplicity of its breeding.

The aim of the work was to evaluate the safety of bee drone brood in terms of the risk of possible contamination with heavy metals, microbial contamination, and sensory acceptability. Bee drone brood dried at a temperature of 80 °C in a hot air oven (DBO) and lyophilized drone brood (DBL) were used. Sensory evaluation was performed on an oatmeal ball (O-B) and drone brood ball (DBO-B). For the determination of the minerals and other elements in DBO, spectrometric analysis was used. The content was as follows: Fe 60.87 µg/g, Cu 54.83 µg/g, Zn 257 µg/g, Ag 82.7 µg/g, Pb 2.1 µg/g, Au 1.2 µg/g, Ca 1336 µg/g, Sr 3.13 µg/g, Zr 1.67 µg/g, Bi 3.87 µg/g, Br 1.95 µg/g. The detected content of lead in dry matter (2.1 µg/g) was high above the limit set for crustaceans (0.4 µg/g). By comparing microbial assay values, no statistically significant difference between freshly dried DBO and dried DBO after a month of storage was detected. Bee drone brood contains microbes far below the legal limits and it is a good source of calcium, iron, and zinc. Except for the juiciness, consumers rated O-B better than DBO-B. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found only in taste.

Edible insect is appraised by many cultures as delicious and nutritionally beneficial food. In western countries this commodity is not fully appreciated, and the worries about edible insect food safety prevail. Electronic noses can become a simple and cheap way of securing the health safety of food, and they can also become a tool for evaluating the quality of certain commodities. This research is a pilot project of using an electronic nose in edible insect culinary treatment, and this manuscript describes the phases of edible insect culinary treatment and methods of distinguishing mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and giant mealworm (Zophobas morio) using simple electronic nose. These species were measured in the live stage, after killing with boiling water, after drying and after inserting into the chocolate.The sensing device was based on the Arduino Mega platform with the ability to store the recorded data on the SD memory card, and with the possibility to communicate via internet. Data analysis shows that even a simple, cheap and portable electronic nose can distinguish between the different steps of culinary treatment (native samples, dried samples, samples enriched with chocolate for cooking) and selected species. Another benefit of the electronic nose could be its future introduction into the control mechanisms of food security systems (e.g. HACCP).

The work focuses on some aspects of content and properties of the fat in mealworm as a novel food. The total fat content of this species is a markedly variable nutritional value that is significantly dependent on the breeding conditions. In this work, the fat content of a mealworm from various Czech suppliers ranged from 202 g.kg-1 to 282 g.kg-1 dry matter, determined using the Soxhlet extraction method. The total average value from all suppliers was 235.8 ±40.8 g.kg-1. This is a range that can be expected by the customer when buying mealworm larvae from a random Czech supplier. Furthermore, the work graphically compares the values of the total fat content with other comparable commodities of animal origin, e.g. chicken or fish. Finally, the aim was to obtain initial information about the comparison of the sensory properties of the mealworm fat with other fats of animal origin using a simple electronic nose. There was a difference between the fat obtained from insect larvae and the conventional unprocessed fats. This work brings a wider view of fat as a taste carrier in a new food - a mealworm.