Hermetia illucens Larvae Reared on Different Substrates in Broiler Quail Diets: Effect on Physicochemical and Sensory Quality of the Quail Meat

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Hermetia illucens (HI) is one of the most promising insect species that can be exploited as alternative and sustainable feed ingredients in poultry farming. HI larvae can grow on a wide range of decomposing organic substrates, thus transforming organic waste into high-value feed products. When HI is included in the diets of different poultry species, it provides positive results in terms of productive performance, the health status of the animals, and overall product quality. However, a common drawback highlighted by most studies has been a suboptimal quality of the meat lipids of HI-fed poultry (high amount of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) to the detriment of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)). The present experiment tested the effects of a dietary inclusion of HI larvae farmed on two different substrates in the diets of meat quails. The two substrates were 100% layer mash (conventional rearing substrate) and 50:50 layer mash/fish offal, which aimed to increase the PUFA content of the larvae. The overall results showed that it was possible to improve the fatty acid profile of the larvae by modulating the rearing substrate, which in turn improved the lipid quality of the meat obtained from quails fed diets containing such larvae. ABSTRACT: This research aimed at improving the fatty acid (FA) profile of Hermetia illucens larvae (HI) and evaluating the effects of their inclusion in growing broiler quails’ diets on the meat physicochemical quality, including detailed amino acid (AA) and FA profiles, sensory traits, and retail display. HI larvae were reared on two different substrates: layer mash (HI1) and 50:50 layer mash/fish offal (HI2). A total of 300 10-day-old quails were allocated to the three dietary groups (five replicates/each): a soybean meal-based diet was formulated (Control), and two other diets were formulated that included either 10% HI1 or HI2. Quails were fed the experimental diets until slaughter. Diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isoenergetic. Breast meat quality was affected by the dietary treatments, which displayed different proximate compositions and AA and FA profiles. Meat physical quality, sensory profile, and retail display remained unaffected for the most part. Overall, results showed that it is possible to improve the FA profile of the HI-fed quails’ meat and thus lipid quality through substrate modulation of the HI’s diet.