Are you ready to eat insects?

The European Food Safety Agency has just approved Yellow Meal worms as being safe for human consumption.

It is expected that this will open the doors to insects eventually becoming a regular part of the western diet.

Insects have long been a part of many diets around the world as a significant source of protein but are not usually eaten by those in western countries.

The protein for the western diet is overwhelming from animal sources, although plant based protein is becoming increasingly popular.

Animal based protein is expensive to produce due to the large amounts of resources required.

It also does not produce as much protein per kilogram of body weight as insects do.

So from a sustainability point of view, insects are definitely where we need to be moving, but can we get those in the west to eat them.

This approval  gives hope to those businesses wanting to move into the market.

A recent study featured in the Food Australia Jan – Mar 2021 Edition  shows that 26.3 percent of the 601 adult respondents are not likely to want to eat any insects, however 56.2 of them said that they are willing to try insects.

Interestingly 65.7 percent of the respondents said that they would be willing to eat flour made from insects.

So it would appear that the way to get insects into our diet is to start with  a material made for insects, so that people cannot see the actual insect.