Cultured meat is attracting substantial financial, industry, and even celebrity, backing and media coverage, but can commercial production levels be achieved and how do insects compare as an alternative protein source?
Itâs a bit ⦠well,
mealy. Dry (because itâs been dried), a little crunchy, not strongly flavoured, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Salt would probably help, or chilli, lime â something, anything, to spice it up a bit. And definitely a beer, if I was going to consume much more, to help wash it down.
Iâm eating mealworms. Dried yellow mealworms, the larvae of the beetle
Tenebrio molitor. Why? Because they are nutritious, made up mainly of protein, fat and fibre. Because there are potentially environmental and economic benefits, as they require less feed and produce less waste and carbon dioxide than other sources of animal protein. And because Efsa, the EU food safety agency, has just declared them safe to eat.
Today’s batch of EFSA scientific opinions on
novel food applications includes the first completed assessment of a proposed insect-derived food product. Our safety evaluations are a necessary step in the regulation of novel food
, as our scientific advice supports EU and national decision-makers who authorise these products for the European market.
Since the Novel Food Regulation came into effect on 1 January 2018, EFSA has received a large volume of applications, covering a wide variety of novel and
traditional food sources. These include herbal products derived from plants, algae-based foods, and non-indigenous fruits in addition to an array of edible insect varieties.
EFSA says mealworms safe for human consumption: ‘An important milestone towards commercialisation’ The European Food Safety Authority has published its first scientific opinion on an insect-derived food. The conclusion? Mealworms are safe for human consumption.
EFSA’s latest batch of scientific opinions on novel food applications includes a significant first – a safety assessment of a proposed insect-derived food product: dried yellow mealworm.
The safety authority’s opinion was coordinated by Ermolaos Ververis, a chemist and food scientist at EFSA.
“Insects are complex organisms, which makes characterising the composition of insect-derived food products a challenge. Understanding their microbiology is paramount, considering also that the entire insect is consumed,” he explained.