Mycotoxin producing microfungi associated with Tenebrio molitor rearing

With arising problems like climate change, exponentially growing population and changing consumer behaviour, the food industry faces a range of problems. One of these is the increased demand for high quality protein. A mitigation strategy rising in interest is the use of insects as an alternative protein source. They are not light dependant, have a similar feed conversion rate to poultry and require very little water, making the rearing process theoretically very efficient. In our project we analyzed the rearing conditions, nutritional composition, contaminants, customer acceptance and product development of Tenebrio molitor.
The aim of the study was to identify typical mycotoxin producing microfungi associated with rearing of Tenebrio molitor. Simultaneously, the change of water activity of the substrate (WB) while rearing, which is strongly associated with microbial growth, was analyzed. This will assist future cultivators in screening and prevention of potential pathogens arising while production, greatly reducing the risk of outbreaks of diseases in humans or animals.
The fungi of the substrate (WB), of the cuticle of the larvae and thus the meal were of interest. Isolation of the fungi was done by cultivation on selective media and subsequent identification via qPCR or MALDI-TOF analysis.
Results indicated that the water activity of WB during rearing did not change significantly in comparison to the control. The selective plates incubated with processed meal showed no growth whatsoever, indicating that the meal is affected very little by yeasts or fungi. On the substrate, a range of genus were identified, the most dominating being the Aspergillus genus.