The larval form of the mealworm beetle is safe for human consumption, the European Union food watchdog said Wednesday.
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
Insects have just moved one step closer to European signs.
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 Union food watchdog said Wednesday in a ruling on an application from French insect breeder EAP Group SAS – Micronutris, now known as Agronutris.
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The advice of the European Food Safety Authority is a first step before officials consider whether to approve the sale of snacks, protein bars, biscuits and other foods containing the insects as an ingredient.
The decision comes as a shock to insect farming, which researcher Arcluster predicts will increase tenfold to more than $ 4.1 billion worldwide by 2025. Insects are emerging as a more sustainable source of protein due to their lower environmental impact and high nutritional value, making them record numbers of venture capital financing and attention from giants such as Cargill Inc. and Nestlé SA.
“It is a clear and important milestone for the entire sector,” said Antoine Hubert, co-founder of France Ynsect SAS, which breeds mealworms and plans to expand into sports nutrition. “There will be a snowball effect. It increases the potential to invest in further capacity and will attract further funding to support growth. “
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This is the first risk assessment of insects as a novel food by EFSA in Parma, Italy, which still has 14 pending uses for bugs – from crickets to grasshoppers. The watchdog also said allergic reactions to the mealworms are possible, so more research needs to be done.
Europe is at the forefront of the burgeoning bug startup scene, identifying bugs as part of its own sustainable food agenda. EU authorities have invested money in research and factories, and the block already allows fish, dogs and cats to eat insect meal.
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Feeding animals instead of people has shown the greatest promise. The International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed expects poultry and pigs to be next. Of Europe’s expected production of 3 million tons of insect protein by 2030, only 10% will go to human food and a large part of the rest to animal feed, the lobby group in Brussels estimates.
“There are increasing opportunities to work with new sustainable ingredients for the animal feed industry,” Helene Ziv, risk management and sourcing director for Cargill’s animal nutrition business, said in an interview. “Insects is actually one we strongly believe in. We are very comfortable about the nutritional quality.”
Cargill has a partnership with InnovaFeed SAS to supply insect protein for fish food while Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. shall hosted a giant flying farm for black soldiers in Illinois. Nestle, the world’s largest food company, added one range of pet foods made with insects.
A handful of EU countries, including Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands, already allow the sale of insecticidal food in stores. About 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 at Paris-based Five Seasons Ventures, mentions the ick factor.
And that’s not the only hurdle. Insect food manufacturers need significant resources to scale up production to be cost-competitive, he said. The industry still has a long way to go to reach the commercial volumes now supplied by the marine ingredients sector, said Anne Mette Baek, director of the European fishmeal and fish oil producers in Copenhagen.
Protix operates Europe’s largest insect farm.
Photographer: Nick Franken / Protix BV
A company is already on its way to the dinner table Protix BV, which operates and has Europe’s largest insect farm investors including Aqua-Spark and Rabobank’s private equity arm. The Dongen, Netherlands-based manufacturer breeds black soldier fly larvae to feed fish and pets, and last summer opened an online shop with food made with crickets and mealworms. Sales more than quadrupled last year, said general manager Kees Aarts in an interview.
“It’s so cool to be at the forefront of a whole new category of nutrition,” said Aarts. “We will see a whole new set of applications emerging. We scratch the surface of the potential that this little creature offers. “
(Updates with Ynsect’s plans, the company name changes from the second paragraph.)