The effect of insect powder addition on the acrylamide formation in leavened and unleavened wheat bread and on the content of its main precursors in raw material was investigated. The samples under study were prepared form wholemeal wheat flour supplemented with 5, 8, and 12% of field cricket or yellow mealworm powder. The addition of both insects increased the content of reducing sugars and free amino acids, except for asparagine, the limiting factor of acrylamide formation in cereal products, which was lower in the samples with the greatest cricket and mealworm supplementation than in the control wheat flour (242.4 and 177.9 vs 249.6 mg/kg). For unleavened bread, an increase in acrylamide was recorded with the highest share of cricket and mealworm compared to the control (up to 14.03 and 29.52 vs 11.02 μg/kg). Conversely, for leavened bread, the variants most supplemented with cricket and mealworm exhibited the lowest acrylamide content relative to the control (64.84 and 68.78 vs 82.47 μg/kg). It is indicated by the results that the supplementation of bakery products with insects enriches their nutritional value and does not pose a risk of increased acrylamide intake by consumers.

Despite extensive research on the nutritional value of edible insects, there is insufficient data on how processing methods affect their chemical composition. In this study, our objective was to assess the effects of boiling, roasting, oven drying, and microwave heating on the nutritional value of insects euthanized via blanching or freezing. Results indicated that both the methods of killing and culinary treatment significantly influenced the nutritional value of yellow mealworms ( Tenebrio molitor ) and Jamaican field crickets ( Gryllus assimilis ). Blanched and boiled yellow mealworm larvae contained the lowest level of protein (54.76 g/100 g dry matter (DM)), and the highest content of fat (35.28 g/100 g DM), while blanched, oven-dried Jamaican field crickets yielded the highest levels of protein (72.95 g/100 g DM) and the lowest levels of fat (13.31 g/100 g DM). Culinary treatments uniformly resulted in increased proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and a decrease in the percentage of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) compared to the raw samples. In contrast to fats, the amino acid composition and protein quality, assessed via the essential amino acid index, remained almost unchanged regardless of the type of culinary treatment. Similarly, the profile of volatile compounds was not significantly affected by the culinary treatment. Although acrylamide was undetectable in raw samples, safe levels (0.02-0.13 μg/g DM) were observed in treated samples. Given the rarity of raw insect consumption, gaining insights into the nutritional content of prepared insect-based dishes is of paramount importance. Thus, forthcoming research that is focused on potential risk compounds linked to thermal processing, as well as strategies aimed at mitigating their presence in insect-based foods, may hold significant relevance.