The European Union’s food watchdog said on Wednesday that the larval form of the mealworm beetle was safe for human consumption.
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
Insects moved just one step closer to European plates.
The dried yellow mealworm, the larval form of the mealworm beetle, is safe for human consumption, in its whole form and as a powder additive, the European Food Watchdog said on Wednesday, ruling on an application by French insect farmer EAP Group SAS – Micronutris, now known as Agronutris.
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The opinion of the European Food Safety Authority is a first step before officials consider approving snacks, protein bars, cookies and other foods that contain the bugs as goods.
The decision is a shock to insect farming, which researcher Arcluster predicts will grow tenfold to $ 4.1 billion worldwide by 2025. Insects emerge as a more sustainable source of protein due to their lower environmental impact and high nutritional value and attract record venture capital funding and attention from giants such as Cargill Inc. and Nestle SA.
“This is a clear and important milestone for the whole sector,” said Antoine Hubert, co-founder of France. Insect SAS, which practices mealworms and plans to expand to sports nutrition. “There will be a snowball effect. This will increase the potential to invest in further capacity and attract further financing to support growth. ”
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This is the first risk assessment of insects as a new food by Parma, EFSA in Italy, which is still 14 pending applications for bugs – from crickets to locusts. The watchdog also said that allergic reactions to the mealworms are possible, so more research needs to be done.
Europe is at the forefront of the emerging insect launch scene and identifies bugs as part of it sustainable food agenda. EU authorities have poured money into research and factories, and the block already allows fish, dogs and cats to eat insect meal.
Putting bugs on for dinner is the solution to feeding the world
Feeding animals, rather than humans, showed the greatest promise. The international insect platform for food and feed expects poultry and pigs to come next. Of Europe’s projected production of 3 million tonnes of insect proteins by 2030, only 10% will go to human food, and the rest will go to animal feed, according to the Brussels lobby group.
“There are more and more opportunities to work with new sustainable ingredients for the animal feed industry,” Helene Ziv, director of risk management and procurement for Cargill’s nutrition industry, said in an interview. “Insects are actually one in which we strongly believe. We are very comfortable with its nutritional value.”
Cargill has a partnership with InnovaFeed SAS on insect proteins for fish feed, while Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. shall host a giant black soldier airport in Illinois. Nestle, the largest food company in the world, has a pet food range with insects.
A handful of EU states – including Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands – are already selling food containing bugs in stores. Around 2,000 insect species are in the diet of about 2 billion people worldwide, but many consumers in Europe will have to overcome what Niccolo Manzoni, managing partner, has established in Paris. Five Seasons Ventures calls the ‘ick factor’.
And that’s not the only obstacle. Producers with insect nutrition need a lot of funds to scale up production to be cost-competitive, he said. Anne Mette Baek, director of the European fishmeal and fish oil producers in Copenhagen, says the industry has a long way to go to reach the commercial volumes that the marine ingredients sector produces.
Protix operates Europe’s largest insect farm.
Photographer: Nick Franken / Protix BV
One company that is already moving to the dinner table is Protix BV, which operates the largest insect farm in Europe and has investors including Aqua-Spark and Rabobank’s private equity arm. The Dongen, a manufacturer in the Netherlands, picks up black soldier fly larvae for feeding fish and pets, and last summer he launched an online shop selling food with crickets and mealworms. Revenue more than tripled last year, CEO Kees Aarts said in an interview.
“It’s so cool to be at the forefront of a whole new category of nutrition,” Aarts said. ‘We will see a whole new range of applications coming. We scratch the surface of the potential that this little creature offers. ”
(Updates with Ynsect’s plans, the company changes the name from the second paragraph.)