Insects as food


Insects as food or edible insects are insect species used for human consumption, e.g., whole or as an ingredient in processed food products such as burger patties, pasta, or snacks.
The cultural and biological process of eating insects is described as entomophagy.

Edible insects

Frequently consumed insect species

Estimates of numbers of edible insect species consumed globally range from 1,000 to 2,000. These species include 235 butterflies and moths, 344 beetles, 313 ants, bees and wasps, 239 grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches, 39 termites, and 20 dragonflies, as well as cicadas. Which species are consumed varies by region due to differences in environment, ecosystems, and climate.
The table below lists the top five insect orders consumed by humans worldwide, retrieved from Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security by Arnold van Huis, Joost Van Itterbeeck, Harmke Klunder, Esther Mertens, Afton Halloran, Giulia Muir and Paul Vantomme.
Order of insectCommon nameConsumption rate worldwide by human population
ColeopteraBeetles31
LepidopteraButterflies, moths18
HymenopteraBees, wasps, ants14
OrthopteraGrasshoppers, locusts, crickets13
HemipteraCicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers10

For a list of edible insects consumed locally see: List of edible insects by country.

Edible insects for industrialized mass production

To increase consumer interest in Western markets such as Europe and North America, insects have been processed into a non‐recognizable form, such as powders or flour. Academics as well as large-scale insect food producers such as Entomofarms in Canada, Aspire Food Group in the United States, Protifarm and Protix in the Netherlands, and Bühler Group in Switzerland, focus on four insects species suitable for human consumption as well as industrialized mass production:
Insects are nutrient efficient compared to other meat sources. Insects such as crickets are a complete protein and contain a useful amount, comparable with protein from soybeans, though less than in casein. They have dietary fiber and include mostly unsaturated fat and contain some vitamins, such as vitamin B12, riboflavin and vitamin A, and essential minerals.
Locusts contain between 8 and 20 milligrams of iron for every 100 grams of raw locust. Beef on the other hand contains roughly 6 milligrams of iron in the same amount of meat. Crickets as well are very efficient in terms of nutrients. For every 100 grams of substance crickets contain 12.9 grams of protein, 121 calories, and 5.5 grams of fat. Beef contains more protein containing 23.5 grams in 100 grams of substance, but also has roughly 3 times the calories, and four times the amount of fat as crickets do in 100 grams. So, per 100 grams of substance, crickets contain only half the nutrients of beef, except for iron. High levels of iron are implicated in bowel cancer and heart disease.
Nutritional value
per 100 g		Mealworms
Buffalo worms
House crickets
Migratory locust
Energy550 kcal / 2303 KJ484 kcal/ 2027 KJ458 kcal/ 1918 KJ559 kcal/ 2341 KJ
Fat
Of which saturated fatty acids		37,2 g
9 g		24,7 g
8 g		18,5 g
7 g		38,1 g
13,1 g
Carbohydrates
Of which sugars		5,4 g
0 g		6,7 g
0 g		0 g
0 g		1,1 g
0 g
Protein45,1 g56,2 g69,1 g48,2 g
Salt0,37 g0,38 g1,03 g0,43 g

Farming, production, and processing

Edible insects are raised as livestock in specialized insect farms. In North American as well as European countries such as the Netherlands or Belgium, insects are produced under strict food law and hygiene standard for human consumption.
Several variables apply, such as temperature, humidity, feed, water sources, housing, depending on the insect species. The insects are raised from eggs to larvae status or to their mature form, and then killed, in industrialized insect farms by lowering the temperature. After that the insects are freeze-dried and packed whole, or pulverized to insect powder, to be processed in other food products such as bakery products, or snacks.
Aside from nutritional composition and digestibility, insects are also selected for ease of rearing by the producer. This includes susceptibility to disease, efficiency of feed conversion, developmental rate and generational turnover.

Insect food products

The following processed food products are produced by several producers in North America, Canada, and the EU:


Food and drink companies such as the Australian brewery Bentspoke Brewing Co and the South-African startup Gourmet Grubb even introduced insect-based beer, a milk alternative, as well as insect ice cream.

Food safety

Challenges and safety concerns

In spite of all the advantages that insect protein are provided, there are some potential challenges caused by production and safety concerns.
Mass production in the insect industry is a concern due to a lack of technology and funds to efficiently harvest, and produce insects. The machinery would have to house proper enclosure for each life cycle of the insect as well as the temperature control as that is key for insect development.
The industry also has to consider the shelf life of insects in comparison to animal products as that some can have food safety concerns. Insects have the capability of accumulating potential hazards, such as contaminants, pathogens, the concentration of heavy metals, allergens, and pesticides etc.
Table below combined the data from two studies published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, and summarized the potential hazards of the top five insect species consumed by humans.
Insect orderCommon nameHazard categoryPotential hazard
ColeopteraBeetleChemicalOromones
ColeopteraBeetleChemicalCyanogentic substances
ColeopteraBeetleChemicalHeavy metal contamination
LepidopteraSilkwormAllergic
LepidopteraSilkwormChemicalThiaminase
LepidopteraHoneycomb mothMicrobialHigh bacterial count
LepidopteraHoneycomb mothChemicalCyanogentic substances
HymenopteraAntChemicalAntinutritional factors
OrthopteraHouse cricketMicrobialHigh bacterial count
HemipteraParasiticalChagas disease
DipteraBlack soldier flyParasiticalMyiasis

Hazards in insects that are shown above can be controlled by various ways. Allergic hazard can be labelled on the package to avoid consumption by allergy susceptible consumers. Selective farming can be used to minimize chemical hazard, whereas microbial and parasitical hazard can be controlled by cooking processes.

Regulation and authorisation

Switzerland

On 1 May 2017, Switzerland has approved the following insect species as food:
Under certain conditions, these may be offered to consumers as whole animals, pulverized, or processed in food products.

EU

In the EU, insects fall within the definition of novel food as food ingredients isolated from animals, given by the European Commission. Parts of insects, e.g., legs, wings, or heads, as well as whole insects, fall within this definition. Dossiers for several insects species are currently under review by the European Food Safety Authority. In August 2018, EFSA published a risk profile for the house cricket as food.

Awareness

The World Edible Insect Day, being held on 23 October, was introduced by Belgian entrepreneur Chris Derudder in 2015 to raise awareness globally for the consumption of edible insects, with a focus on Europe, North America, and Australia.

Footnotes