ABSTRACT
African emperor moth (Gonimbrasia zambesina) caterpillars are considered healthy food as
they are rich in protein and unsaturated fats. In Kenya, G. zambesina caterpillars are predominantly found along the
coastal region, where they emerge in during the short and the long
rains. The caterpillars forage in the wild on mango (Mangifera indica) leaves and Euclea
natalensis (Ericales: Ebenaceae) leaves. The caterpillars are consumed
whole or may be transformed into fine flour. The caterpillars’ flour can be
utilized in the bakery industry for the enrichment of bakery products since
wheat (the major component of bakery products) is low in protein. However,
consumers are concerned about the microbiological quality of bakery products
enriched with insect flour. There are also concerns about the effect of these
insects’ flour on the shelf life of bakery products since they have unsaturated
fats. Therefore, this study evaluated the microbial quality and shelf life of
wheat muffins enriched with G. zambesina caterpillar flour at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. For all the samples analyzed,
total viable count (TVC) was <30 cfu/g, total coliform count (TCC) was
<30 cfu/g, Salmonella spp, and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected.
The colonies for yeast and moulds were <30 cfu/g throughout the evaluation
time of 21 days. The PVs of wheat muffins increased with an increase in the substitution level. The PVs of
enriched wheat muffins increased with an increase in storage time and
temperature. The shelf-life of the wheat muffins decreased with an increase in
the substitution level of wheat flour with G.
zambesina caterpillar flour. The predicted shelf life of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%,
and 20% wheat muffins was 120.0 days, 111.0 days, 103.0 days, 102.0 days and
90.0 days, respectively. Therefore, wheat muffins enriched with G. zambesina caterpillar flour have good
microbiological quality and shelf life.