Mealworms, whole or as powder in pasta, have become the first insect-based food approved by the EU's food safety watchdog. The EU Commission has yet to endorse the decision.
The darkling beetle larvae are already commonly used as food for pet reptiles and fish
Mealworms got approval for EU plates Wednesday from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), based in Italy's city of Parma — better known for its tasty pasta, tomatoes, ham and cheese.
Actually larvae of the darkling beetle (Tenebrio molitor) and typically fed to pet reptiles and fish, the yellow grubs could soon be the first "novel food" cleared for sale across the EU, assuming the European Commission adds its endorsement.
Rich in protein, fat and fiber, they could be eaten whole or as a powdered ingredient in snacks and noodles, assuming their original fodder was free of contaminants, concluded the Italy-based EU agency.
Interest 'great' in food sector
EFSA food scientist Ermolaos Ververis said interest was high among the "edible insect sector" of the food industry and the scientific community.
Watch video 09:28 Plastic recycling with mealworms
Mealworms are the first species approved among 15 insects subjected to risk assessment procedures delegated to the EFSA in 2018 under a 2015 EU regulation.
The EFSA food agency has 156 applications for "novel food" on its plate. Those also include algae-derived edibles.
'Yuck factor' could dwindle
For many Europeans, eating insects still triggered a "yuck" reaction, said Giovanni Sogari, a consumer researcher at the University of Parma.
"With time and exposure, such attitudes can change," he speculated.
Elsewhere in the world, including Africa and Central America, chewing on insect crisps, cooking with them, even mealworm burgers, have long become norms, so-called entomophagy, alongside massive meat consumption blamed in part for climate change.
Two EU nations, Austria and Germany, already have special dispensations for insect-based snacks.
EFSA food scientist Ermolaos Ververis said interest was high among the "edible insect sector" of the food industry and the scientific community.
Watch video 09:28 Plastic recycling with mealworms
Mealworms are the first species approved among 15 insects subjected to risk assessment procedures delegated to the EFSA in 2018 under a 2015 EU regulation.
The EFSA food agency has 156 applications for "novel food" on its plate. Those also include algae-derived edibles.
'Yuck factor' could dwindle
For many Europeans, eating insects still triggered a "yuck" reaction, said Giovanni Sogari, a consumer researcher at the University of Parma.
"With time and exposure, such attitudes can change," he speculated.
Elsewhere in the world, including Africa and Central America, chewing on insect crisps, cooking with them, even mealworm burgers, have long become norms, so-called entomophagy, alongside massive meat consumption blamed in part for climate change.
Two EU nations, Austria and Germany, already have special dispensations for insect-based snacks.
Answer to food insecurity?
Around the world, thousands of insects are potential candidates —prompting the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2013 to speculate that "eating insects can help tackle food insecurity."
Watch video 07:06 Insects: Our future food?
Fed even on bio-waste, insects used significantly less water than livestock, and could be farmed more easily, said the FAO.
"For example, pigs produce 10-100 times more greenhouse gases per kilogram (pound) than mealworms, the UN agency said.
Experts warn that some insect species could become extinct globally over the coming decades — largely due to habitat loss as land is converted to intensive agriculture, as well as urbanization and the use of pesticides.
The EU's EFSA cautioned Wednesday that insect proteins were sometimes overestimated and a watch had be kept for potential allergies.
Edible insects move closer to European plates
Issued on: 13/01/2021 -
Insect burgers containing protein-rich mealworm could soon be available in European Union countries
Fabrice COFFRINI AFP/File
Brussels (AFP)
The EU's food watchdog on Wednesday paved the way for diners across Europe to tuck into insects as it gave safety approval for human consumption of dried yellow mealworm.
The move by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the preliminary step needed before officials can decide whether to allow the beetle larvae to be sold to consumers across the 27-nation bloc.
The ruling is the first completed risk assessment of an insect food product application by the agency as it looks to approve a potential boom sector that could provide a sustainable source of protein.
It could "pave the way for the first EU-wide approval," Ermolaos Ververis, scientific officer in EFSA’s NUTRI unit, said in a statement.
"Risk evaluation is a decisive and necessary step in the regulation of novel foods by supporting policy makers in the EU in making science-based decisions and ensuring the safety of consumers."
The EFSA said it had found the mealworms -- or Tenebrio molitor larva -- were safe to be eaten "either as a whole dried insect or in the form of powder" after an application from French insect-rearing firm Micronutris.
"Its main components are protein, fat and fibre," the statement said, but warned that more research needed to be done on possible allergic reactions to the insects.
The burgeoning insect farming industy in Europe welcomed the decision and said they hoped to see authorities give permission for yellow mealworms to be marketed to the public by the middle of this year.
"The release of this document indeed represents an important milestone towards the wider EU commercialisation of edible insects," Antoine Hubert, president of the the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed, said in a statement.
The Italy-based EFSA has more insect investigations on its plate and is also set to examine if crickets and grasshoppers are fit for consumption.
Insects are widely eaten elsewhere on the globe with an estimated 1,000 species finding their way onto dinner plates of some 2 billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
They are already available for human consumption in a small number of EU countries and are more widely produced for use in animal feed.
The industry says it expects the European market for insect-based food products to grow rapidly in the coming years and for production to reach some 260,000 tonnes by 2030.
© 2021 AFP
Brussels (AFP)
The EU's food watchdog on Wednesday paved the way for diners across Europe to tuck into insects as it gave safety approval for human consumption of dried yellow mealworm.
The move by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the preliminary step needed before officials can decide whether to allow the beetle larvae to be sold to consumers across the 27-nation bloc.
The ruling is the first completed risk assessment of an insect food product application by the agency as it looks to approve a potential boom sector that could provide a sustainable source of protein.
It could "pave the way for the first EU-wide approval," Ermolaos Ververis, scientific officer in EFSA’s NUTRI unit, said in a statement.
"Risk evaluation is a decisive and necessary step in the regulation of novel foods by supporting policy makers in the EU in making science-based decisions and ensuring the safety of consumers."
The EFSA said it had found the mealworms -- or Tenebrio molitor larva -- were safe to be eaten "either as a whole dried insect or in the form of powder" after an application from French insect-rearing firm Micronutris.
"Its main components are protein, fat and fibre," the statement said, but warned that more research needed to be done on possible allergic reactions to the insects.
The burgeoning insect farming industy in Europe welcomed the decision and said they hoped to see authorities give permission for yellow mealworms to be marketed to the public by the middle of this year.
"The release of this document indeed represents an important milestone towards the wider EU commercialisation of edible insects," Antoine Hubert, president of the the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed, said in a statement.
The Italy-based EFSA has more insect investigations on its plate and is also set to examine if crickets and grasshoppers are fit for consumption.
Insects are widely eaten elsewhere on the globe with an estimated 1,000 species finding their way onto dinner plates of some 2 billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
They are already available for human consumption in a small number of EU countries and are more widely produced for use in animal feed.
The industry says it expects the European market for insect-based food products to grow rapidly in the coming years and for production to reach some 260,000 tonnes by 2030.
© 2021 AFP
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