Use of Foods Based on Bee Drone Brood: Their Sensory and Microbiological Evaluation and Mineral Composition

Marie Borkovcová,Jiří Mlček,Anna Adámková,Martina Bednářová,Martin Adámek,Veronika Ševčíková,Zuzana Musilová

doi:10.3390/su14052814

Marie Borkovcová, Jiří Mlček + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052814

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Abstract

The aim of the work was to evaluate the safety of bee drone brood in terms of the risk of possible contamination with heavy metals, microbial contamination, and sensory acceptability. Bee drone brood dried at a temperature of 80 °C in a hot air oven (DBO) and lyophilized drone brood (DBL) were used. Sensory evaluation was performed on an oatmeal ball (O-B) and drone brood ball (DBO-B). For the determination of the minerals and other elements in DBO, spectrometric analysis was used. The content was as follows: Fe 60.87 µg/g, Cu 54.83 µg/g, Zn 257 µg/g, Ag 82.7 µg/g, Pb 2.1 µg/g, Au 1.2 µg/g, Ca 1336 µg/g, Sr 3.13 µg/g, Zr 1.67 µg/g, Bi 3.87 µg/g, Br 1.95 µg/g. The detected content of lead in dry matter (2.1 µg/g) was high above the limit set for crustaceans (0.4 µg/g). By comparing microbial assay values, no statistically significant difference between freshly dried DBO and dried DBO after a month of storage was detected. Bee drone brood contains microbes far below the legal limits and it is a good source of calcium, iron, and zinc. Except for the juiciness, consumers rated O-B better than DBO-B. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found only in taste.

Highlights

Due to the ever-increasing world population, attempts are being made to expand the area of arable land, which competes with both urbanization pressure and the need to conserve natural habitats
The results show that, except for color, the lyophilized bee drone brood was more pleasing to the evaluators
We consider the high level of lead found to be a significant finding, due to which bee drone brood cannot be considered as a safe food ingredient

Summary

Introduction

Due to the ever-increasing world population, attempts are being made to expand the area of arable land, which competes with both urbanization pressure and the need to conserve natural habitats. Animal production today consumes more protein (77 million tons) than it can produce for human consumption (58 million tons) [1]. Insects can be bred in large numbers on a minimum space, compared with conventional cattle. With significantly higher fertility and shorter generation times, insects reproduce very quickly and have an excellent nutritional composition [2]. Edible insects and insect products are defined in a European regulation as a novel food. Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council was issued on 1 January 2018 that insects meet the definition of a novel food. It is possible to place insects on the entire European market on the basis of Article 35 of EU Regulation 2015/2283

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