Pathogen control in insects as food and feed: Interactions between black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) and Escherichia coli O157:H7

Monday, November 11, 2024

11:54 AM – 12:06 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 221 B, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

Rachel Ann McNeal

PhD Candidate
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

Co-Author(s)

TC

Tawni Crippen

USDA-ARS
College Station, Texas
Aaron Tarone

Professor
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
JT

Jeffery Tomberlin

Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

With the rise of the insects as food and feed industry, food safety and quality control are growing concerns. Specifically, pathogen control within this industry is necessary for its establishment and expansion. One such insect that is widely being looked at for this industry is the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), due to its ability to digest a wide variety of organic side streams, including food (Jiang et al. 2019) and animal waste (Miranda et al 2021). This study evaluates the interaction between black soldier fly larvae and Escherichia coli O157:H7, a food safety pathogen, within a control diet, to determine the impacts that the microbe and insect have on one another. The black soldier fly has been found to be able to dramatically reduce the presence of E. coli O157:H7 during the larval stage as well as change the abiotic factors in the feeding substrate over time.