The domestic cricket ( acheta domesticus ) has become the third insect authorized by the European Commission (endorsed by the Member States on December 8, 2021 after an exhaustive evaluation by the European Food Safety Agency) to be used as a food ingredient . in the market of the whole European Union. The approval of the yellow mealworm came first, authorized in July 2021 and, months later, in November 2021, for the migratory locust.
Brussels proposed its authorization after knowing the strict evaluation of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), which concluded that the consumption of this insect is ‘safe’ . This is an authorization that comes from the hand of an EU strategy baptized as “From farm to table”, which seeks to identify alternative sources of protein to promote change towards a much more sustainable food system.
Since 2018, the so-called ‘Novel Food Regulation’ has been in force in Europe, which stipulates that novel foods (including insects) can only be consumed after undergoing a series of exhaustive safety and health controls.
How can we eat domestic crickets?
Cricket will be available in its entirety, either frozen, dried, or powdered, and products containing this new food (such as protein foods, pizza dough, cookies, pasta, or frozen) must be properly labeled to point out any possible allergic reaction. .
According to the EC, “novel foods can only be authorized if they do not present any risk to human health ; otherwise, the Commission would not have presented its approval to the Member States”.
Today, insects constitute a substantial part of the daily diet of hundreds of millions of people around the world thanks to the fact that they can represent an interesting protein alternative. The life cycle of this insect is about 60 days , which is why many Spanish companies have already launched into the production of insects, such as Insecfit or Nutrinsect .
“The environmental benefits of raising insects for food are based on the high food conversion efficiency of insects, lower greenhouse gas emissions, less use of water and arable land, and the use of insect-based bioconversion as a marketable solution to reduce food waste”, continues the European Commission.
Entomophagy for millennia
Of course, for the moment, insects as food represent a very small market niche in the EU . Eating insects is not new to humans: cultures around the world have included them as staple foods for thousands of years (such as Zambia, Cameroon, Thailand, and the Philippines routinely feasting on migratory locusts). But many Western cultures (including the United States and several European countries) resist eating insects and view the practice with some disgust. It is an attitude that they hope will transform little by little.
And it’s unlikely that these are the only insects to make it onto our European shopping list , as the European Commission has said there are at least nine more applications awaiting approval for other types of insects, such as the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens ).
Some of the most popular edible insects around the world include beetles and beetle larvae, wasps and hornet larvae, grasshoppers, and butterflies/moths. Remember that the concept that insects are not safe to eat or that they carry dirt is wrong . They are as safe as any other food and require the same care in growing and processing as other animal products.
Referencia: European Commission
