Framework for valorizing waste- and by-products through insects and their microbiomes for food and feed.

[Display omitted] • Insects can valorize waste- and by-products through their microbiomes. • New innovative technologies allow manipulation of host-microbiomes. • Microbiome manipulation can improve insect food and feed production. • Legislation and stakeholders must be considered for successful implementation. One third of the food produced for human consumption is currently lost or wasted. Insects have a high potential for converting organic waste- and by-products into food and feed for a growing human population due to symbiosis with microorganisms. These symbioses provide an untapped reservoir of functional microbiomes that can be used to improve industrial insect production but are poorly studied in most insect species. Here we review the most current understanding and challenges of valorizing organic waste- and by-products through insects and their microbiomes for food and feed, and emerging novel food technologies that can be used to investigate and manipulate host(insects)-microbiome interactions. We further construct a holistic framework, by integration of novel food technologies including holo-omics, genome editing, breeding, phage therapy, and administration of prebiotics and probiotics to investigate and manipulate host(insects)-microbiome interactions, and solutions for achieving stakeholder acceptance of novel food technologies for a sustainable food production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]