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Insect food poses allergy risks: Researchers highlight the need for insect-specific allergen tests

A call for raised food allergy awareness and risk management – a study led by James Cook University and supported by A*STAR’s Bioinformatics Institute, Edith Cowan University, and Australia’s Science Agency CSIRO and National Measurement Institute (NMI).

In recent years, insects have been increasingly introduced and promoted as a sustainable food source to address the world's need to feed the growing population. In Singapore for instance, 16 species of insects have recently been approved as food. While beneficial as an alternative and complementing protein source, this raises concerns about potential allergy risks for people with existing shellfish allergy.

“Insects are highly nutritious and are closely related to crustaceans such as shrimps, crabs and lobsters,” explains Dr Thimo Ruethers, from James Cook University (JCU)’s Tropical Futures Institute (TFI).

“Crustacean food allergy affects up to 4% of the population, with those people at a significant risk of suffering from an allergic reaction after eating insect protein-based foods,” he then cautions. 

"By leveraging advanced bioinformatics tools, we can identify potential allergens in insects and their products more effectively, which is crucial for the safety of shellfish food allergy sufferers," says Professor Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, Executive Director at A*STAR’s Bioinformatics Institute.

While some edible insects are known to pose allergy risks to some consumers, most are underexplored and little is understood about the culprit proteins (allergens) that may explain clinical cross-reactivity between insects and shellfish. Researchers have now identified the allergens in insect-based food products, specifically those derived from crickets and black soldier fly larvae, that can trigger allergic reactions. Optimised extraction of proteins from insects is crucial for accurately identifying allergens, and the researchers aimed to identify the most feasible testing methods. In the process, they found that currently available allergen test kits were unreliable in detecting these allergens in food products, indicating a need for insect-specific tests.

“This means that diagnostic tools, allergen test kits, and food allergen labelling must take into account these unique allergens in edible insects, especially as this will likely be one of the primary sources of protein for the human population in the near future. Importantly, shellfish allergy sufferers must be aware of potential risks posed by insect-based foods.” summarises TFI’s Professor Andreas Lopata who led the study at JCU’s Molecular Allergy Research Laboratory.

Paper

Karnaneedi S, Johnston EB, Bose U, Juhász A, Broadbent JA, Ruethers T, Jerry EM, Kamath SD, Limviphuvadh V, Stockwell S, Byrne K, Clarke D, Colgrave ML, Maurer-Stroh S, Lopata AL. The Allergen Profile of Two Edible Insect Species—Acheta domesticus and Hermetia illucens. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202300811.

Find out more about the Tropical Futures Institute, insect food allergies and shellfish allergy diagnosis.

Discover further information on areas of research, and research strength at James Cook University in Singapore.

Contacts

Dr Thimo Ruethers thimo.ruethers@jcu.edu.au

Professor Andreas Lopata andreas.lopata@jcu.edu.au

Professor Sebastian Maurer-Stroh sebastianms@bii.a-star.edu.sg

Media: Ms Pinky Sibal pinky.sibal@jcu.edu.au / Ms Hoe Shu Rin shurin.hoe@jcu.edu.au