MALDI-TOF MS enables rapid genus-level insect identification and species-level discrimination, especially when dealing with unprocessed single-species powders. Accurate species assignment depends on insect abundance and matrix complexity of the inspected products. As well, the use of MALDI-TOF MS for species identification of products with low insect content or high plant protein is still limited and may require complementary methods such as LC-MS/MS to achieve unambiguous species identification.
Straka et al. (Wed,) studied this question.