The larval shape of the mealworm beetle is safe for human consumption, the European Union food surveillance body said on Wednesday.
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
The insects took a step closer to European dishes.
Dried yellow flour, the larval form of the flour beetle, is safe for human consumption in its complete form and as a powder additive, the European Union food surveillance body said Wednesday, deciding on a request from the French insect breeder. 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 the authorities consider approving the sale of snacks, protein bars, cookies and other foods that contain insects as ingredients.
The decision is a shock to the insect breeding business, which researcher Arcluster predicts will grow tenfold, exceeding $ 4.1 billion globally by 2025. Insects are emerging as a more sustainable source of protein thanks to their lesser impact environmental and high nutritional value, attracting record risk capital financing and attention from giants like Cargill Inc. and Nestle SA.
“It is a clear and important milestone for the entire industry,” said Antoine Hubert, co-founder of France Ynsect SAS, which creates mealworms and plans to expand into sports nutrition. “There will be a snowball effect. This will increase the potential to invest in more capacity and attract more financing to support growth ”.
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This is the first risk assessment of insects as novel foods by EFSA of Parma, Italy, which has another 14 pending insect apps – from crickets to grasshoppers. The watchdog also said that allergic reactions to mealworms are possible, so more research needs to be done.
Europe is at the forefront of the growing insect boot scene, identifying insects as part of its sustainable food agenda. EU officials have injected money into research and factories, and the bloc already allows fish, dogs and cats to eat insect meal.
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Feeding animals, instead of humans, has shown the greatest promise. The International Food and Feed Insect Platform expects birds and pigs to be next. Of Europe’s projected production of 3 million tonnes of insect protein in 2030, only 10% will go to human food, with much of the rest going to animal feed, the Brussels-based lobby group estimated.
“There are more and more opportunities to work with new sustainable ingredients for the animal feed industry,” said Helene Ziv, director of risk management and sourcing for the animal nutrition business at Cargill, in an interview. “In fact, we believe in insects a lot. We are very comfortable with its nutritional quality ”.
Cargill has partnered with InnovaFeed SAS for provide insect protein for fish feed, while Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. will host a giant black soldier fly farm in Illinois. Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, added a line of rations made with insects.
A handful of EU states – including Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands – already allow the sale of food containing insects in stores. About 2,000 species of insects are on the diet of around 2 billion people worldwide, but many consumers in Europe will have to overcome what Niccolo Manzoni, managing partner of the Paris-based company Five Seasons Ventures, calls the “ick factor”.
And that is not the only obstacle. Insect feed manufacturers need substantial funds to increase production in order to be cost competitive, he said. The industry has a long way to go to achieve the commercial volumes now provided by the marine ingredients sector, said Anne Mette Baek, director of European Fish Meal and Fish Oil Producers in Copenhagen.
Protix operates the largest insect farm in Europe.
Photographer: Nick Franken / Protix BV
A company that is already moving towards the dining 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 Dutch-based Dongen manufacturer breeds fly larvae of black soldiers to feed fish and pets and, last summer, opened an online website shop selling food made from crickets and mealworms. Revenue more than quadrupled 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,” said Aarts. “We will see a new range of applications emerging. We are scratching the surface of the potential that this little creature offers. “
(Updates with Ynsect’s plans, company name change from the second paragraph.)