Effects of microwave and hot air oven drying on the nutritional, microbiological load, and color parameters of the house crickets (Acheta domesticus)

This research examined the effects of microwave and hot air oven drying on the nutritional, microbiological load, and color parameters of crickets' powder. Both drying methods resulted in a slight variation in proximate composition. Microwave drying was considered the most suitable method for producing crickets' powder because of the high levels of mineral elements, improvement in color parameters, and low levels of microbiological loads in microwave crickets' powder compared to an oven. It also improved the vitamin B2 content as evidenced by a significantly higher amount (4.84 +/- 0.01 mg/100 g dry basis) in microwave crickets' powder compared to the oven (3.83 +/- 0.01 mg/100 g dry basis). However, the level (<1.00 +/- 0.00 cfu/g) of Staphylococcus aureus in all samples was lower than the accepted risk threshold. The findings highlighted the inherent vitamin B2, minerals, microbiological load, and color improvements of microwave drying technique. Practical applications Nutritional value, microbiological load, and sensory parameters of microwave and oven-dried crickets' powder were assessed to determine the practical application of both drying techniques in addressing the diversity of food standards and food safety policies, and provide scientific evidence for the development, and implementation of good manufacturing practices for whole-dried crickets and crickets' powder. The results of this present study clearly demonstrated that the microwave drying technique can be used effectively to improve the nutritional benefits, microbiological load, and increased acceptance of cricket's entomophagy compared to oven. Moreover, because of high dietary factors in crickets' powder, the supplementation of food products with crickets' powder can contribute to a reduction in malnutrition rates. Further, population vitamin B2, B3, B12, and several mineral deficits can easily be tackled with crickets' powder and whole-dried cricket's entomophagy.