From Food Waste to Functional Biopolymers: Characterization of Chitin and Chitosan Produced from Prepupae of Black Soldier Fly Reared with Different Food Waste-Based Diets
Journal: Foods
Year: 2024

The use of food waste as a rearing substrate to grow insects is an ecofriendly and sustainable alternative to food waste disposal. In the present research, <i>Hermetia illucens</i> prepupae were reared with a standard diet, different food waste-based diets based on vegetables, fruits, and meat, and a mixed one, where the previous three components were present equally. The demineralization and deproteination of the prepupae allowed for the obtainment of chitin that was then deacetylated to produc