By Cassandra Maya

Big leaps from tiny creatures

Nine years after the Food and Agriculture Organization’s catalytic edible insect report [1], interest remains high. In fact, a recent report projected that the edible insect industry to be worth $9.6 billion by 2030 [2]. However, their use continues to come across a series of obstacles. As with all food products, legislature plays an important role on the growth of industries. Legal authorization can take novel foods from a curiosity to widespread market products.

Why not just legalize them all?

Nutritional and physiochemical properties of edible insects can vary greatly by species, lifecycle, and sex. Multiple scientific experts (e.g. chemists, toxicologists, nutritional scientists) are needed to assess all the applications of novel foods, including insects [3].

The legal use of insects in the European Union is largely subject to the recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). At the start of 2018, EFSA began receiving applications for the Novel Food Regulation. Since then, some applications for insects have already been reviewed and authorized, such as frozen and dried formulations of house crickets (whole and partially defatted) [4, 5], yellow mealworm [6, 7], and migratory locusts [8].

Bugxit (ba dum tsss)

After Brexit, EU novel food laws that applied to the edible insects industry were not transferred to the UK. Edible insects that were not authorized by the EU before January 1^st of 2020 had to be reauthorized in the UK by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). As of January 2021, several popular edible insect species, like the ones mentioned above, are outlawed in the UK and companies are at risk of shutting down [9].

Over 30 companies have submitted a dossier (i.e. a collection of documents or information- thanks Google) to the FSA for the review of the house cricket and are preparing to submit for the review of mealworms. The cost of this preparation is approximated at £80,000 per species [9]. Responses from FSA are expected in about 18 months after submission [10]. Hopefully these innovators can continue their work soon!

References

1. Van Huis, A., Van Itterbeeck, J., Klunder, H., Mertens, E., Halloran, A., Muir, G., & Vantomme, P. (2013). Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security(No. 171). Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations.
2. Business Wire. (2022, June 14). $9.6 Billion Edible Insects Markets, 2030: Whole Insect, Insect Powder, Insect Meal, Insect Oil, Crickets, Black Soldier Fly, Mealworms. Available from: businesswire.com.
3. European Food Safety Authority. (2021, January 13). Edible insects: the science of novel food evaluations. Available from: efsa.europa.eu
4. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Turck, D., Bohn, T., Castenmiller, J., De Henauw, S., Hirsch‐Ernst, K. I., … & Knutsen, H. K. (2021). Safety of frozen and dried formulations from whole house crickets (Acheta domesticus) as a Novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. EFSA Journal, 19(8), e06779.
5. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Turck, D., Bohn, T., Castenmiller, J., De Henauw, S., Hirsch‐Ernst, K. I., … & Knutsen, H. K. (2022). Safety of partially defatted house cricket (Acheta domesticus) powder as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. EFSA Journal, 20(5), e07258.
6. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Turck, D., Castenmiller, J., De Henauw, S., Hirsch-Ernst, K. I., Kearney, J., Maciuk, A., … & Knutsen, H. K. (2021). Safety of dried yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larva) as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. EFSA Journal, 19(1), 6343.
7. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Turck, D., Bohn, T., Castenmiller, J., De Henauw, S., Hirsch‐Ernst, K. I., … & Knutsen, H. K. (2021). Safety of frozen and dried formulations from whole yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larva) as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. EFSA Journal, 19(8), e06778.
8. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Turck, D., Castenmiller, J., De Henauw, S., Hirsch‐Ernst, K. I., Kearney, J., … & Knutsen, H. K. (2021). Safety of frozen and dried formulations from migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) as a Novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. EFSA Journal, 19(7), e06667.
9. Horizon Edible Insects. (2021, October 14). The current legal status of edible insects in the UK – 2022. Available from: horizoninsects.co.uk
10. Morrison, O. (2022, February 3). ‘A major milestone for the UK edible insect sector:’ UK edible insect makers hope for Novel Food approval by 2023. Available from: foodnavigator.com.
11. Featured Image by Nahima Aparicio via Unsplash

Cassandra Maya | Linkedin

SMF Blog Writer

Cassandra earned a B.S. in Food Science and Technology from Cal Poly Pomona and a M.S. in Nutritional Science from San Diego State University. As a ‪Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD fellow at the University of Copenhagen, Cassandra researches the nutrition and acceptability of alternative proteins, but is especially a fan of edible insects. In the future, Cassandra hopes to teach and foster kittens.