Sustainable Local Food Evaluation by Dosage of Some Metallic Pollutants in Wild Insect Species Consumed in Togo

Fègbawè Badanaro, Narcis Barsan, Amivi Tété-Benissan, Valentin Nedeff and Mirela Panainte-Lehadus
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Fègbawè Badanaro: Laboratory of Biochemistry Applied to Nutrition, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01 BP 1515, Togo
Narcis Barsan: Faculty of Engineering, Vasile Alexandri University of Bacau, Calea Marasesti, No. 157, 600115 Bacau, Romania
Amivi Tété-Benissan: Laboratory of Biochemistry Applied to Nutrition, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01 BP 1515, Togo
Valentin Nedeff: Faculty of Engineering, Vasile Alexandri University of Bacau, Calea Marasesti, No. 157, 600115 Bacau, Romania
Mirela Panainte-Lehadus: Faculty of Engineering, Vasile Alexandri University of Bacau, Calea Marasesti, No. 157, 600115 Bacau, Romania

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-8

Abstract: In tropical countries, where human consumption of insects is a traditional practice, insects are mainly harvested in the natural environment. These insects are thus exposed to all forms of pollution, particularly metallic pollutants. However, an inventory of scientific knowledge on the risks related to the consumption of insects is missing in the international scientific literature. It is therefore essential to conduct research on the trace metals (TMEs) contained in insects caught in the wild. The objective of this work is to evaluate the level of accumulation of TMEs by insect species commonly consumed in Togo to estimate the health risk related to insect consumption. To do this, 12 species of insects consumed in their adult stage were collected across the whole territory of Togo. These samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine TMEs. It appears that traces of different metallic elements exist in the samples at variable rates. The aquatic species Cybister tripunctatus is the most contaminated, with levels of cadmium (0.504 mg/kg) and lead (0.501 mg/kg) at the limit of edibility threshold. The concentrations of all TMEs in insects during this study are within acceptable limits for human consumption. The risk of human contamination with TMEs through insect consumption is therefore low.

Keywords: local food; edible insects; pollution; TMEs; bioaccumulation; Togo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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