Crickets at the table receive the green light from EFSA(European Food Safety Authority), with a view to authorizing their production and sale in the EU asnovel food ingredients(Novel Foods) under EU Regulation 2015/2283. (1)
The house cricket-the third insect species to receive EFSA’s favorable scientific opinion, after flour moths(Tenebrio molitor) and locusts(Locusta migratoria)-has both traditions of consumption and prospects of relevance to human nutrition.
Domestic cricket, non-EU consumer traditions
The taxonomy of Acheta domesticus L. is related to the habit of this insect to colonize homes and other buildings where human activities take place. The house cricket is a cosmopolitan insect, widely distributed in Europe, North Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America. (2)
The tradition of its consumption as a food is referred in the bibliography cited by the applicant to several countries in Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia), Africa (Ghana) and Central America (Mexico). Enough to infer the substantial absence of human health risks associated with its ingestion.
Domestic cricket, experiences of use in EU
In Europe, crickets featured prominently in the first approvals for sale for food use in the more proactive member states-such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany-in the transition phase that accompanied the new EU Novel Food Regulation (2015/2283), as noted. (3)
In the feed industry, crickets are one of seven insect species approved for use as raw materials, among the few sources of animal protein with almost no risk of acting as vectors of dangerous pathogens (such as those leading to the development of spongiform encephalopathies). (4)
Nutritional values
The composition of crickets is characterized by the presence of protein, fat and dietary fiber (in the form of chitin). As well as appreciable amounts of vitamins and minerals. The presence of ‘anti-nutritional’ factors (i.e., capable of limiting food digestibility or nutrient absorption) is comparable to that of other conventional foods.
All essential amino acids are present in cricket protein, in similar or even higher amounts than the FAO recommended values. The protein content is high, although its actual levels are lower (-11%) than those (15.1% the frozen product, 60.3% the powdered product) inferred by applying the nitrogen-protein conversion factor 6.25 (due to the presence of non-protein nitrogen in chitin). The most representative fatty acids are palmitic, oleic, and linoleic, with a very similar proportion of saturated, unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (~40:30:30).
Allergenicity and microbiology
The proteins in crickets are similar to those in crustaceans. Persons with food allergies to crustaceans or otherwise sensitive to them, i.e., mollusks and mites, should therefore refrain from consuming foods containing Acheta domesticus L. With attention to the potential risks of adverse reactions to other allergens if insects are reared in substrates containing them.
At the microbiological level, the risk of pathogen contamination can be controlled by application of good hygiene practices (GHP, GMP) and self-control (HACCP). Thanks also to a heat treatment, blanching (blanching at > 90°C for at least 10 minutes), which precedes drying or freezing. Viruses and parasites that can affect insects, when lethal to them, are conversely harmless to humans.
Crickets on the table, green light from EFSA
EFSA issued a favorable scientific opinion for the purpose of authorizing the use of house crickets as food ingredients in the forms proposed by the applicant (see next paragraph). Noting how they pose no health risks to the consumer and no nutritional disadvantages.
The resulting foods can be consumed by all indicated population groups, 3 years of age and older, excluding people with food allergies or otherwise sensitive to shellfish. Without risk of exposure to undesirable substances (e.g., mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides) that have been detected at very low or unidentifiable concentrations. Nor to toxic substances that some insects, but not even the house cricket, might produce.
Novel food with exclusive
The application for authorization of the novel food under consideration had been submitted on 12/17/18 by Fair Insect BV, a Dutch consortium of three insect breeders. With regard to whole domestic crickets–frozen or dried, or powdered–for use as ingredients in various foods such as snacks and breakfast cereals, pasta, baked goods, soups, meat products, fermented foods, etc. The 32-month evaluation process far exceeded the deadlines set by Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.
Fair Insect BV-acquired in June 2017 by Protix, a group specializing in the production of insects for feed use, thanks to a €45 million (5)-required the protection of some specific data, related to production processes and studies carried out on its products. This will entail the exclusive right for 5 years (in favor of it and/or its third-party licensees) to sell the relevant Novel Foods in the EU, after the European Commission has authorized them in agreement with the member states’ representations.
Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna
Notes
(1) EFSA NDA Panel et al. (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):6779. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6779. https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6779
(2) Dutto et al. (2020). Recent observations of Acheta domesticus (L., 1758) (Orthoptera Gryllidae) in Piedmont (Northwestern Italy). Boll. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 152(1):37-40, https://www.entostudio.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Recenti-osservazioni-di-Acheta-domesticus.pdf
(3) Dario Dongo. Insects at the table in the EU. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 9.2.18, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/insetti-a-tavola-in-ue
(4) Reg. EU 2017/893 Amending Annexes I and IV of Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 and Annexes X, XIV and XV of Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011 regarding animal protein provisions. EUR-Lex, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/893/oj
(5) Protix (2017). Protix acquires Fair Insects and diversifies toward mealworms, crickets and locusts. Conference Press, https://protix.eu/wp-content/uploads/Press-release-2017-Fair-Insects.pdf
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in Food Technologies and Biotechnologies, qualified food technologist, he follows the research and development area. With particular regard to European research projects (in Horizon 2020, PRIMA) where the FARE division of WIISE Srl, a benefit company, participates.
