It is being billed as the long-awaited breakthrough moment in European gastronomy for mealworm burgers, locust aperitifs and cricket granola.
Within weeks the EU’s European Food Safety Authority is expected by the insect industry to endorse mealworms, locusts, crickets and grasshoppers as being safe for human consumption.
The ruling is likely to lead to the final authorization of their sale across the EU as a “novel food” by as soon as the autumn, opening up opportunities for mass production of a range of insect dishes to be sold across Europe for the first time.
In the eyes of leading players in the insects-as-food industry, the potential for their high-protein delicacies has been held back by a lack of EU-wide approval thus far.
– If everything goes smoothly, 2020 will be a very important milestone for the consumption of insects in Europe. We are already working with large retailers, but they need an EU guarantee to be sure to promote insects. The same applies to investors – says Michiel Van Meervenne.
His product, which is called Kriket, is an energy bar with powdered crickets. Potential producers already have a strategy that will help them roll up the market. They know that insect consumption is culturally foreign in EU countries. At the same time, they also see that many people are interested in this topic – especially young people who are close to caring for the planet, which also translates into their choices.
What do you think, will insects really conquer our tables and palates?
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