DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

DOI: 10.11118/nutrinet2026_008

FROM LARVAE TO MEAL: INSECTS UNDER PROCESSING PRESSURE

Kristína Kolbaská1, Ester Vargová1, Branislav Gálik1, Michal Rolinec1, Miroslav Juráèek1, Milan ©imko1, Ondrej Hanu¹ovský1
1 Institute of Nutrition and Genomics, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia

The industrial conversion of insects into high-value protein meals is a cornerstone of the modern circular bioeconomy, where minimizing processing losses is critical for economic viability. This study analyzed the processing losses and mass balance of two economically important insect species – yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) and adult house crickets (Acheta domesticus) – during post-harvest technological processing, including freezing, lyophilization (freeze-drying), and homogenization (mechanical milling). For crickets, three dietary regimens were compared using five replicates each: a traditional plant-protein diet (PP), an insect-protein diet (IP), and a combined-protein diet (CP). For mealworms, two dietary groups were evaluated using five replicates each, specifically a control group (CG) and an insect-protein group (IG). The results showed that losses during freezing and milling did not differ significantly among groups CG and IG (p > 0.05). In contrast, losses during lyophilization differed significantly among groups CG and IP (p < 0.05). Significant within-species variations in lyophilization losses were also observed, both in Acheta domesticus and Tenebrio molitor (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that dietary composition does not affect mechanical processing losses but significantly influences moisture retention and subsequent drying efficiency. Understanding these mass balance parameters allows for the optimization of industrial post-harvest processing of insect biomass.

Keywords: Tenebrio molitor; Acheta domesticus; black soldier fly larvae meal; alternative feed; biomass yield; freeze-drying; homogenization

pages: 72-80, online: 2026



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