In the name of sustainable development, insects will soon be appearing legally on the plates of EU consumers.
Member State experts have approved a European Commission proposal to allow the use of dried yellow mealworms as a novel food, the institution announced on Tuesday 4 May. This is a first.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had previously given its green light (see EUROPE 12635/19).
Pasta and biscuits. Dried yellow mealworm “can be used as a whole dried insect as a snack or as an ingredient in a number of food products, as a powder in protein products, biscuits or pasta products”, the Commission said in a statement.
It believes that insects “can provide an alternative source of protein that can support the EU’s transition to a more sustainable food system”.
The Commission notes that, according to the UN, “Insects are a highly nutritious and healthy food source with high fat, protein, vitamin, fibre and mineral content. Therefore, they are an alternative protein source facilitating the shift towards healthy and sustainable diets”.
The authorisation regulation will be adopted by the Commission in the coming weeks. Eleven other applications for authorisation are on the EFSA table. Crickets and grasshoppers are being examined. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)