File photo: Bart Smit, owner of the Microbar food truck, holds a box of mealworms at a food truck festival in Antwerp, Belgium, September 21, 2014. Dried mealworms could soon be on supermarket and restaurant shelves across Europe. The 27 EU countries approved a proposal Tuesday, May 4, 2021, to allow mealworm larvae to be marketed as a “novel food.” (Associated Press/Virginia Mayo, file photo)
BRUSSELS (AP) — Dried mealworms could soon appear on supermarket and restaurant shelves across Europe.
On Tuesday, the 27 EU countries approved a proposal to market mealworm larvae as a “novel food”.
The EU’s move comes after the EU’s food safety agency published a scientific opinion this year that the worms are safe to eat. Researchers say the worms, eaten whole or in powder form, are a protein-rich snack that can also be used as an ingredient in other products.
People with allergies to crustaceans and dust mites may experience anaphylaxis, the committee said.
The market for insects as food is tiny, but EU officials say growing insects for food is good for the environment. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations calls insects “a healthy and nutritious food source, rich in fats, proteins, vitamins, fibre and minerals.”
The European Union is set to pass a regulation allowing dried mealworms to be eaten in the coming weeks after approval from EU countries on Tuesday.
Post time: Dec-19-2024