Edible winged termites: a neglected yet promising solution for future food security

Abstract

Abstract

The world’s population rises by day which increases pressure on the already little land for productive agriculture. To guarantee food security of tomorrow’s population, promising yet neglected and underutilised food sources have attracted global attention especially novel edible insects as a sustainable source of food and different industrial products. Edible termites are not only suitable candidates for this purpose but also have potential for vertical farming yet with little ecological damage.  Due to their rich nutrient density, termites can ably be used in nutrition interventions if thorough and detailed research efforts are geared in this direction. Currently, the scientific literature available misses many critical aspects for the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare termites as an ingredient in food and food industrial applications.  Edible termites might confer special benefits to the human body due to their antitumor, antimicrobial and anti-oxidant properties in addition to their probiotic and prebiotic potential. As edible termites are reaching wider markets even in the European Union, it insights the urgent need for value chain regulation and quality control from termite harvesting to consumption. The fact that no allergy symptoms from termite consumption have so far been documented by scientists and health practitioners presents an opportunity for safe termite industrialisation, if rigorous hygiene, disinfection protocols and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) have been followed from farm-to-fork.

Keywords: Winged termites, termite nutrients, edible insects, termite industrialisation