Ready to order a helping of fried crickets? The advantages of eating insects and how it should be done

It is now possible to go to restaurants whose menus include salad with beetle larvae powder, fried cricket or scrambled eggs with worm larvae among their star dishes.

Surprised?

Would you opt for any of them or would you prefer dishes that contain pork, beef, chicken, fish or shellfish?

In our country, hospitality businesses are beginning to proliferate where one can find these 'exotic' products.

Madrid, Barcelona or Salamanca have some of the main ones.

And if what you want is to cook them at home, there are large stores that sell derivatives of the bugs authorized by regulatory agencies, such as flour, or even energy bars that include them as one more ingredient.

Gastronomically, insects are part of the cuisine of many countries around the world and their consumption within Europe is advancing, albeit slowly.

"80% of humanity eats them regularly in their diet, but since it is something that is not part of the dominant culture, it usually seems strange and strange to us," explains Francisco Botella, coordinator of the Nutrition Area of ​​the Spanish Society. of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN), who points out that this rejection is largely due to a "cultural" issue.

Botella gives the example that in Spain there will be those who find it unappetizing to eat grasshoppers -a type of grasshopper that is eaten in some areas of Latin America-, while they will have no qualms about tasting a bowl of snails.

"Nutritionally there is very little difference between a snail and a grasshopper.

It's more of a cultural thing."

Also Rogelio Berbel, nutritionist pharmacist and member of Food of the Official College of Pharmacists of Alicante, points out why the introduction into the European diet is restrained: «Culture shock is a barrier because in Western Europe nutritional clichés are very established.

But if we can get them out, insects are a great alternative."

And it is that the nutritional properties of insects guarantee that they bet on their consumption.

But let's go in parts.

As pointed out by the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan), "in recent years the

has been approved " and, as they point out, it is important to transmit to the population

: "For a new food to be authorized, the first thing is for a food company to request an authorization from the European Commission. Once the application is received, and to confirm that the new food is safe for consumers, the Commission requests the European Authority (EFSA) to carry out a safety assessment After issuing such a favorable assessment, the Commission requests the opinion of the Member States on the draft authorization act If a majority is reached qualified, the product can be marketed".

What are the insects traded in Europe?

As of today, there are four authorized insects on the European market:

(frozen, dried and powdered),

(frozen, dried and powdered),

(frozen , dried, powdered and partially defatted powder) and

(frozen, paste, dried and powdered).

In addition, there are

for insects intended to be traded in different forms that are currently undergoing a safety assessment by EFSA.

Along with this, Aesan points out that the authorization of a new food refers to the product requested by the company, "although it can also include specific conditions of use (for example, in which products the new food can be used and how many grams can be used as ingredient in those products), additional specific labeling requirements and specifications".

In addition, it emphasizes that if the consumption of the product has a risk of producing allergies,

.

According to the procedure that is followed and the controls carried out by the European authority, from the Aesan they assure that "the currently authorized insects

".

And they add that if an insect is included in a food product, the name of the

must be part of the ingredient list.

"As soon as any of these four types of insects is approved as food, it is because it has been stipulated that, nutritionally and industrially speaking, their food safety

," Berbel stresses.

What nutritional properties do they have?

Regarding the information that must be transmitted to the population about the properties of insects, Botella explains that, "from the nutritional point of view", they are "

;

an assessment to which Aesan also adds: "Scientific studies indicate that

.

And it is that, from the nutritional field, the protein value of insects is immense.

"Their contribution is as high as it could be, consuming them correctly, that of the best meat, and also because it is a protein of

", highlights the Food member of the Alicante College of Pharmacists.

In addition, there is another factor that must be taken into account and that plays in favor of the consumption of insects: the impact that its production has on the environment.

"In terms of resource consumption, the difference between what it costs to get a kilo of protein from the cricket compared to getting it from the cow is staggering.

, is much less harmful," assures the coordinator of the Nutrition Area of ​​the SEEN.

Also from Aesan they put the focus on this issue: "They are an alternative source of protein that facilitates the change towards

with the environment."

Beware of eating 'homegrown' insects

The guidelines established by the European regulation of novel foods are the main guarantee to guarantee the safety and quality of insects that are marketed for consumption within the European Union.

For this reason, Botella calls for such consumption to be of authorized products and never

;

Something that you always have to let the user know.

"One

. This is why regulation is so necessary and that the cultivation and production of these insects be controlled."

This issue is also of the utmost importance to Berbel, who recommends that the user make proper use of these foods and handle and preserve them following the labeling recommendations: "Provided that both the form of consumption marketed and the instructions on the package are respected. labeling there should be no problem".

In addition, it advises that these insects, despite having been identified, are not consumed outside of a

route of purchase and consumption .

On this issue, from the Aesan they emphasize that, "with the regulation on novel foods, the European Commission ensures that novel foods, such as insects, are

."

They also add that the mandatory food information "must be available for both packaged and non-packaged foods" and that the indication of allergens is also "mandatory".

Regarding food allergies to insects as new foods and the precautions to be taken in this regard, the SEEN spokesman spearheaded the regulation that controls the entry of insects into the market: "New foods, in general , are usually safer from an allergenic and toxicological point of view than the classic ones, since they have been incorporated into the market with

that the traditional ones did not have at the time".

Who should be careful about possible allergies?

That said, it highlights that, as is known to date,

are recommended to take precautions when consuming insects.

"After all, they are arthropods and have an exoskeleton," says Botella.

The Aesan also makes an appeal in this sense and points out that the EFSA has concluded that the consumption of the insect proteins evaluated can give rise to allergic reactions, "especially in people with known allergies to crustaceans, dust mites and, in

."

And it adds: "In this sense, the indication on the label

for the four authorized insects".

Despite all this, Berbel puts on the table a nuance that must be taken into account: "Contrary to what happens with other foods that have been analyzed for a long time, we do not have a longitudinal record

of how these insects can be related to the appearance of allergy, intolerance or malabsorption processes".

For this reason, he points out: "I always recommend to the user that if he observes skin reactions or any process susceptible to some type of allergy, he assesses that it may be due to the consumption of insects."

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