At the beginning of January 2023, the European Commission authorized the placing on the market of a powder of partially defatted house crickets. The product, introduced on European territory by the Vietnamese company Cricket One, can be found in several of our foods, such as bread, biscuits, sauces, pizzas, drinks such as beer or even in meat preparations. In France as in Germany, its marketing arouses divergent reactions.
House crickets, frozen, dried or powdered, have already been authorized for sale since 2022. Cricket One’s application, which dates from the summer of 2019, concerned the introduction of house cricket powder and partially defatted as a new food. It was only a year later that the European Commission asked the Food Safety Authority to assess this product, in particular its safety.
“In its scientific opinion, the Authority concluded that under the conditions of use and the doses proposed, the powder of Acheta domesticus (house crickets) partially defatted did not present a danger. Therefore, this opinion provides sufficient grounds to establish that when used in multi-grain breads and rolls (…) partially defatted powder of Acheta domesticus (house crickets) meets the conditions for placing on the market market pursuant to Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283”we read in the implementing regulations of the commission.
“Potentially allergenic proteins”
The opinion of the European Food Safety Authority was mainly based on the information contained in the Vietnamese company’s application dossier. These include, among others, a detailed description of the production process, analytical data on contaminants, analytical data on microbiological parameters and the results of studies on protein digestibility.
Partially defatted house cricket powder, however, can cause insect-related food allergies. The same authority reported that the Acheta domesticus “contains several potentially allergenic proteins” which can cause “allergic reactions in people allergic to crustaceans, molluscs and house dust mites”. In addition to raising awareness of the proteins in this powder and continuing research into its allergenicity, the authority only insisted on “proper labeling”.
Cricket One’s authorization is valid for a period of five years. For the moment, the Vietnamese company is the only one to supply the European market with lightly defatted cricket powder, “unless another applicant subsequently obtains an authorization”.
“1,900 insects can be used as food”
It is in Germany that the decision of the European Commission has mainly made the headlines. The marketing of this powder has been favorably received by left-wing politicians and the media. mainstream. The German daily “Tageszeitung”, close to the Green Party, dedicated its front page to this product, which is “in the mood of time”. “The proportion is still low” since it is a niche sector, “but all revolutions start small”comments the newspaper.
In his column on Sud Radio, journalist and columnist André Bercoff recalled on Wednesday January 25 that the dried mealworm and the migratory locust are “already allowed and recommended“. “Yes yes, the migratory locust will land on your plates”he says, not without humor and irony.
Virginie Joron, RN deputy interviewed by the columnist, explains that “it’s not new”. “A vote on this dates back to 2015 when an extension to the list of food products was adopted. The RN had voted against but we were only a minority. This year, the Food Safety Authority already explained that there was a lack of studies to agree to include insects in this list of foods”. she explained, pointing out a “acceleration” encouraged by ecological ideology.
“Anything animal protein could be replaced”, adds the politician, who recalls that “The World Food Organization (FAO) said in 2021 that there are 1,900 insects that can be used as food in the world. The European Commission has made it known that 11 insects are on the list and we are currently at three (…) which we starve for a day and then grind them into a powder”.
“Eating insects to fight global warming”
Virginie Joron, who is a member of the INCOI commission on consumer protection, explains that three articles of the Commission’s decision “are contradictory”particularly with regard to labeling and allergies. “We authorize on one side, but we ask for the continuation of research”. “And then in restaurants, it will not be said if what we eat is made from insects”, continues André Bercoff.
The implementing regulations also caused a reaction across the Atlantic. American media notably accuse the “globalists and climate change activists” of “to push for people to start eating insects to fight global warming, although this practice is linked to parasitic infections”.
An article from Washington Post dating from November 2022, entitled “Salty ants. Ground crickets. Why you should try edible insects”, already aroused hostile reactions. In Canada, The Aspire Food Group has pledged to produce 9,000 tonnes of insects a year for human and animal consumption after completing construction of the world’s largest cricket food processing facility.
On Twitterthe approach is also associated with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its communication on the project.
You will eat the bugs. You will own nothing. And you will be happy. pic.twitter.com/6Pkj5Ol4Td
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 20, 2022
