Cold atmospheric pressure plasma processing of insect flour from Tenebrio molitor: Impact on microbial load and quality attributes in comparison to dry heat treatment

• CAPP is applied on Tenebrio molitor flour and compared to thermal treatment.
• Thermal treatments at 120 and 140 °C completely inactivate the native microorganism flora.
• CAPP and thermal treatment affect the techno-functionality of Tenebrio flour in a different manner.
• CAPP induced changes in solubility and structure of Tenebrio proteins differed from heat induced.
• Band patterns of Tenebrio proteins are modified process specific and dependent on parameters applied.

In this study, the applicability of semi-direct cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) during postharvest processing of Tenebrio molitor flour is investigated. Besides analyzing the decontamination efficacy, plasma-induced impact on techno-functionality, protein solubility, composition and structure was determined and compared to heat induced effects.Following CAPP treatment, the total microbial load of the Tenebrio flour of 7.72 log10 cfu/g was reduced to 7.10 (1 min), 6.72 (2.5 min), 5.79 (5 min), 5.19 (7.5 min), 5.21 (10 min) and 4.73 (15 min) log10 cfu/g. With increasing exposure to CAPP, protein solubility at pH 4 almost linearly decreased to a minimum of 54%. Water binding capacity decreased from 0.79 to 0.64 gwater/g whereas oil binding capacity increased from 0.59 to 0.66 goil/g. Gel electrophoresis revealed a decrease of all protein fractions at pH 4 whereas at pH 10 the band pattern significantly shifted to protein fractions with higher molecular weights.Industrial relevanceEdible insects are rich in valuable protein, fat, fibre, minerals and micronutrients. Although a wide range of species represent a valuable alternative protein source that could contribute to food and feed security, they are industrially hardly exploited. The tailored application of proper processing technologies could lead to novel insect-based high-protein food and feed products with unique functional properties supporting the increase in acceptability among potential consumers. Current research concentrates on developing processing chains including innovative nonthermal approaches. Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) has gained attention as an effective technology for the decontamination and modification of fresh and dry agricultural products. In the postharvest chain of edible insects, the application of CAPP could contribute to the development of safe and high-quality insect-based products in the food and feed sector.