Meat quality of poultry fed with diets supplemented with insects: A review

Abstract

The development of sustainable feed ingredients for monogastric livestock is now also considering insect products. Although the regulation on the use of insect products differs among countries, resulting in restrictions on use in poultry diets, global research is exploring all the strengths and weaknesses of their inclusion. The scientific literature has extensively studied the relationship between insect-containing diet and effects on ante-mortem factors in fish and poultry, however the relationship between insect-containing diet and meat quality has only recently been considered. This review aims to collect the results of the studies that have related the dietary use of some insect species, such as the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and the silkworm (Bombyx mori), on the physicochemical and sensory traits of poultry meat. The insect source in poultry diets rarely changed the related physicochemical variables or the sensory profile of the meat, whereas the fatty acid (FA) profile was the variable that was most affected, and inclusion of black soldier fly always resulted in meats with a more saturated FA profile, yellow mealworm in a more monounsaturated FA profile, whereas silkworm produced meat with a more unsaturated FA profile, rich in valuable omega-3 FA.