Effect of freezing and drying processes on the molecular traits of edible yellow mealworm

Sustainable industrial production of insect-derived products (insect meal, oil, and other extracts) must count on efficient processes and high standard quality. Freezing and drying are the most critical processing operations in insect industry, since they can strongly affect the quality of final products. It is demonstrated here that low-temperature-long time drying processes negatively affect insect products quality, while freezing and high-temperature-short time drying do not have a significant impact. Molecular details of nutrient degradation processes are provided.