The house cricket Acheta domesticus, a potential source of protein for human consumption

Sammanfattning: population of the world is growing and it is expected that it will reach 9.6 billion people by the year 2050. The demand for animal-derived protein is expected to increase which also increases the land and water usage, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) and therefore leads to environmental stress. These factors show that the current way of producing protein is unsustainable. While people in the western world are overconsuming, people in developing countries are not getting the protein and energy they need, which leads to diseases like obesity, kwashiorkor and marasmus. Protein is the most essential component of tissue, especially muscles and in the human body. Animals, as well as plants, are sources for protein in human diet. The house cricket Acheta domesticus has with a protein content of 66.6 % dry weight, one of the highest protein contents of edible insects and it is significantly greater than traditional protein sources. Furthermore, all essential amino acid contents are predominantly higher than in traditional protein sources, and are able to meet the daily need of essential amino acids for humans. To integrate the Acheta domesticus in human consumption, an increase of promotion and knowledge is needed. Higher acceptability can be given by different processing of insects into powder or flour. Also, familiar snacks (e.g. protein bar, cookies) and culture adapted recipes containing Acheta domesticus can promote insects for human consumption. Farming the Acheta domesticus can be a lucrative business, even for unemployed people with low education, as it is easy to rear the Acheta domesticus and a low capital expenditure is needed. Still, courses have to be given to improve the knowledge about farming Acheta domesticus. It can be a challenge to farm on a large scale (but also on a small scale), because of the Acheta domesticus densovirus (AdDNV) which can cause high death-rates in Acheta domesticus populations. By selecting a more AdDNV tolerant Acheta domesticus the chances of getting an outbreak be lowered. Unfortunately, a virus tolerant Acheta domesticus has not been found yet. To increase sustainability, optimize rearing and therefore lowering the price per kilogram, many factors like location and energy cost play a big role. By comparing different rearing temperatures, it showed that the Acheta domesticus grew faster, but stayed smaller, at 29°C and it grew slower, but gave a higher individual weight in the adult stage, at 27°C. The amino acids and protein content in the haemolymph are the highest in the one-day-old adult. This shows that the rearing temperature of 29°C can be more suitable for the Acheta domesticus because the one-day-old adult stage is reached faster. The USA/Canada retail price of the Acheta domesticus is with €21,46 higher than the traditional protein sources. Still, by calculating the price to reach 100% Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of essential amino acids, the Acheta domesticus has a smaller difference in price with €1,02, compared with for example beef which has €0,82 Euro. The challenge is to optimize the farming of the Acheta domesticus to lower the kilogram price, which makes it even more competitive with the traditional protein sources.