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The Food Insects Newsletter Home the FOOD INSECTS NEWSLETTER Index for A Place to Browse Page 1 of 14 Index for A Place to Browse - The Food Insects Newsletter Home THE FOOD INSECTS NEWSLETTER JULY 1995 VOLUME VIII, NO. 2 Food insects will hold a prominent place in the upcoming lnternational Symposium on Biodiversity to be held in China. See page 3. Ed.: This is the third in a series of invited articles on potential hazards that could be posed by indiscriminate or careless consumption or handling of insects. We are grateful to the authors for generously agreeing to prepare the article under severe time constraints. Allergies Related to Food Insect Production and Consumption Joel Phillips from eczema and dermatitis, to rhinitis, congestion and Wendell Burkholder bronchia] asthma. In severe cases, sensitivity to insect USDA-ARS material is heightened to the extent that the victim can Stored-Product Insects Research Laboratory experience anaphylactic shock, a potentially life-threatening Department of Entomology condition often involving rapid swelling, acute respiratory University of Wisconsin-Madison distress, and collapse of circulation. If possible, it is Madison, Wisconsin 53706 incumbent upon the sufferer to recognize and avoid insect allergens long before the onset of extreme sensitivity. The cultural practice of entomophagy is old and well- established especially in non-industrialized regions of the Since most insect allergies are of the contactant and inhalant world. Thanks to this newsletter, along with occasional type, it would be reasonable to assume that the greatest anecdotes in the electronic and print media, human health risk associated with food insects would be to workers consumption of insects is a growing novelty in the U.S. and involved in their production. Owing to the small and other nations not usually associated with the custom. Latter- obscure nature of the food insects industry ,especially in the day food insect devotees may simply want to sample species U.S., virtually nothing is known of such problems. considered delicacies in other cultures, or they may be However, there are many records of insect-induced allergies interested in the reputed nutritional or medicinal qualities of among workers in other enterprises. Workers shelling and certain food insects. Regardless of motivation, initiates must cleaning walnuts in Bulgaria developed eczema, dermatitis first overcome the wide- spread cultural taboo against the and intense itching of the skin associated with exposure to practice, that is, the idea that consuming insects is generally the larvae and excreta of the Indian meal moth. Although unhealthy. Proper methods of selection and preparation can they are not insects, mites that infest cheese, bran, dried largely nullify the health concerns associated with eating fruits, jams and sugars are known to cause transient food insects. However, one matter will continue to nag the dermatitis among workers when body fluids are re- leased practice, and that is the possibility of allergies to insect- upon crushing. Records of inhalant allergies in the derived foods. Virtually any food item can be allergenic. workplace make up the majority of case histories. In a Yet, other arthropods such as shellfish (i.e., shrimp, lobster, NIOSH survey of USDA labs that rear insects, nine orders crayfish) are particularly well-known for their ability to of insects plus mites and spiders induce mild to severe allergic reactions in susceptible SEE INSECT ALLERGIES, individuals. Thus, the risk can not be taken lightly. The P.2 following is a brief review of the potential health risks associated with the production and consumption of food insects. The popular image of insect allergies is that associated with IMPORTANT SUBSCRIPTION NOTICE! the bites and stings of venomous species like bees, ants, and The November issue of The Food Insects Newsletter will be http://www.food-insects.com/Vol8%20no2.htm 9/21/2012 Index for A Place to Browse Page 2 of 14 wasps (injectant allergens). Over one-hundred deaths per under new management. Between now and then, Associate year in the U .S. are attributed to fatal reactions to arthropod Editor Florence Dunkel assumes the editorship and begins venoms. These accounts make hot news, although the vast the process of moving the Newsletter's base of operations majority of victims suffer little more than short-term itching, from Madison, Wisconsin to Bozeman, Montana. Effective burning and swelling. More common allergic reactions September 1, all correspondence pertaining to the attributable to insects include those caused by contacting Newsletter should be addressed to the new editor. body parts or waste products (contactant allergens) or Dr. Florence V. Dunkel inhaling microscopic dust particles composed of pulverized Department of Entomology carcasses, cast skins and excreta (inhalant allergens). 324 Leon Johnson Hall Allergies caused by contacting or inhaling insect material Montana State University can have significant health consequences in the home or Bozeman MT 59717-0302 work environment with symptoms ranging Tel: (406) 994-5065 Fax: (406) 994-6029 E-Mail: [email protected] Please see page 12 for more subscription information The Food Insects Newsletter Page 2 Downed US. flyer in Bosnia survives on insects The story broke on June 8th. attracted the immediate attention of the associated with a new national hero. We Following six harrowing days of news media. The next day, for heard from more than 15 newspapers, avoiding capture after being shot down example, Capt. O'Grady was quoted by magazines and radio stations over the in Bosnian Serb- held territory , Air ABC Evening News as saying the ants next 10 days, and some inter- viewers Force Captain Scott Francis O'Grady were hard to eat because they were pursued the subject in depth. Two was dramatically rescued by hard to catch. It wasn't surprising, interviews closed with the question, helicopter. President Clinton was either, that our telephone started "How long could a person survive "ecstatic." How did O'Grady survive? - ringing with calls from reporters eating only insects?" The answer was by eating grass and insects and wanting to know more about the easy: "Probably for a lot longer than by drinking rain water, he said. Not nutritional value of insects and what eating only in U.S. fast food joints. " surprising, the insects (ants were the they taste like. It was nice having ones mainly consumed, apparently) edible insects so closely Insect Allergies (from page one) can name at least one food that turns their stomach, it is not clear what role, if any, psychological factors may have were named as sources of the inhalant allergens. In his 1980 played in these illnesses. We can, however, gain some survey of insectary workers, Wirtz found that 67% of his insight from controlled experiments on human subjects done respondents linked their allergy symptoms to direct or with preparations of common food-infesting insects. A airborne exposure to lepidop- teran (moth and butterfly) classic study by Bernton and Brown in 1967 utilized dialized scales with emphasis on respiratory problems. Two labs had extracts of seven of these insects in skin sensiti vity tests of 53% and 75% of their personnel develop allergies to scales subjects with and without known allergies. Test extracts despite the use of exhaust hoods and protective masks and included those of the rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae), fruit fly clothing. Case histories of asthma among Lepidoptera {Drosophila melanogaster), lndian meal moth {Plodia in- workers are numerous. terpunctella), sawtoothed grain beetle {Oryzaephilus surinamensis), red flour beetle larvae and adults {Tribolium Reactions to Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, castaneum), confused flour beetle {Tribolium confusum), cockroaches, etc.) are also common. In 1969 LeClercq and lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica). Of the 230 reported that workers rearing locusts suffered rhinitis, allergic patients, 68 (29.6%) reacted positively to one or itching skin, bronchitis and ultimately asthma in general more of the dialized insect extracts. Surprisingly, of the 194 sequence. Wirtz recounted one study of migratory locusts non-allergic subjects, 50 {25.8%) showed sensitivity to at where all of the workers became allergic to the insect. The least one extract. A total of 333 positive reactions were authors know of a researcher who suffered dyspnea (labored observed. The degree of overall sensitivity was practically breathing) during a prolonged session of grinding crickets the same for both groups, with the lndian meal moth extract into meal to supplement chicken feed. Ominously, the three eliciting the most positive reactions followed by the extracts cases of anaphylactic shock reported by Wirtz involved of red flour beetle larvae, red flour beetle adults, rice http://www.food-insects.com/Vol8%20no2.htm 9/21/2012 Index for A Place to Browse Page 3 of 14 orthopterans. weevils, fruit flies, confused flour beetles, sawtoothed grain beetles, and lesser grain borers. Workers exposed to the obligate beetle and weevil (Coleoptera) pests of stored grains and milled products have The question arises as to where upwards of 25% of the also been affected. Reports of skin itching, hives, rhinitis, general population might have acquired sensitivity to these dyspnea, and bronchial asthma are numerous and well- insects. At one time or another, most people have had to documented. Flies and midges (Diptera) as well as mayflies clean out their cupboards as a result of an infestation by one (Ephemeroptera) and caddis flies (Trichoptera) have or more stored-food pests. If the problem is bad enough (and likewise been implicated as allergenic hazards in the recurrent), sensitivity could be related to inhalant or workplace. The above reports as well as others too contactant allergens of insect origin. More likely, however, numerous to mention in this article highlight the fact that these allergies are the result of ingesting small quantities of insects and related arthropods pose a very real occupational insect material in food over a lifetime.
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