One small step for humanity, one giant leap for the edible insect industry.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved our good friend the lesser mealworm for
human consumption -check selfie below. Although the EFSA said that it may induce allergic reactions in
subjects with an allergy to crustaceans and dust mites, it does not raise any safety concerns for the
general public. On the contrary, mealworms were found to be safe under the proposed uses.

It was Ÿnsect the company that had submitted the 90-day toxicity study to the EFSA and is now getting
excited about growing its product portfolio. The company says it's now ready to accelerate the
commercialization of its products across Europe -they want to use the lesser mealworm as an ingredient
in various food products (cereal bars, pasta, alternative meat).

Mealworms specifically provide 33% more energy than pork (247 Kcal vs 186 Kcal in 100 g) and they
have almost the same protein level as chicken (19.4 g vs 19.9 g). Insects’ main advantage is that they
need 14 times less farmland than cows, 3.5 times less than pigs, and almost 2.8 times less than chickens.
The difference in the amount of water needed is even bigger: 56 times less than the water needed for
cows. Fossil and labor input are also extremely low compared to traditional meat.

So why aren't we seeing more insects in our food? According to GlobalData, 38% of consumers
worldwide are not familiar with insects as an ingredient. And 25% of respondents in that survey found
that they didn't have a formed opinion about eating insects, which shows how little we still know about
our tiny friends. So a lot more is needed in terms of marketing -and time- to improve consumer
preference.

Right now, Ynsect is waiting for the last final authorization from the European Commission's Health
Directorate General. Approving the use of lesser mealworms as food ingredients could open new doors
and help the edible insects industry grow at an unprecedented speed.

#edibleinsects #alternativeproteins #consumertrends #consumerexperience #technology

#foodtechnology #foodtech #europeanmarkets #surveyresearch #dataanalytics #dataanalysis #food
#beverages #foodandbeverage

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Sources
Article: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2022/07/05/a-major-step-forward-for-the-insect-
industry-ynsect-celebrates-efsa-green-light
Data: https://www.statista.com/study/56817/edible-insects/

Sources
Article: ‘A major step forward for the insect industry’: Ÿnsect celebrates EFSA green light
Data: Edible Insects Report

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Extras

In the US, consumers prefer edible food products as snacks (22%), appetizers (19%) and side dishes
(19%).