Acrylamide is considered to be an endogenous contaminant of food and feedstuff. Attention is paid to the acrylamide content in human nutrition products; however, there is lack of data about its concentrations in feedstuff. Acrylamide has been found in processed dog and cat food. The range of acrylamide concentration found in samples of dry dog and cat feedstuff ranged from 106 to 358 μg/kg, and from 66 to 269 μg/kg, respectively. The attention of this study is on bird food, since it is also highly processed in high temperatures. We will examine the effects of heat stress on Tribolium castaneum, the common red flour beetle, after they have been fed a diet of varying concentrations of bird foods (0 – 100%). Tribolium castaneum has long been established as a model to screen for the effect of drugs on complex fitness parameters a toxicity model. For synchronization of beetles, pupae will be hatched within 4 days, and 60 imagos will be placed within each condition (0%, 10%, 25,%, 50%, 100% bird food (BF)). Feeding periods will be 320C and 70% humidity for 14 days with changes of fresh media every 7 days.
Results/Conclusions
The effects of bird food consumption on the fitness of T. castaneum was compared with previous research done by Grünwald et al (2014). Both fitness and survival under heat stress of the beetles are diminished depending on dose and time of exposure. The use of vertebrates as research models is limited by their long generation times, low numbers of progeny and ethical concerns. In contrast, invertebrates such as insects breed rapidly, produce many offspring and are more ethically acceptable, allowing them to be used for high-throughput screening. Here, we established Tribolium castaneum a quick study to examine the inferences between food compounds and fitness and stress-resistance as health parameters. Researching carcinogens, like acrylamide, found in mass produced animal feed will help understand how harmful it can be to domestic animals. Also, other types of animal feed can be investigated such as canned food or broths. Also, researching carcinogens, which can be found in plastics which are commonly found in oceans, natural forests and landfills, can harm ecosystems and wildlife. Understanding how harmful these compounds can be will hopefully make others be cautious about what is being fed to humans, pets, and contaminating the ecosystems, making everyone responsible for each other.