A "very healthy and nutritious food source" has just been approved by the European Union.
Mealworms will soon be able to reach consumers' plates in the 27 member states which have agreed to the consumption of this product as a "new food".
Biscuits or pasta made from dried yellow mealworms may soon arrive on Europeans' plates.
The 27 authorized Tuesday, for the first time, the placing on the market of insects as food.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded in mid-January that mealworm larvae, also known as "mealworms", could be safely eaten "either as a whole dried insect or as a powder".
A "healthy and very nutritious food source"
Following this regulatory green light, "Member States have approved a proposal from the European Commission, authorizing the use of dried yellow mealworms as a novel food," the EU executive announced on Tuesday.
"It can be used as a whole dried insect as a snack or as an ingredient in a number of food products, as a powder in protein products, cookies or pasta products," the Commission continues.
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Insect-based products (very rich in protein, minerals, vitamins, fiber, but also healthy fatty acids, omega 6 and 3) can help prevent nutrient deficiencies, according to companies in the sector.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describes them as "a healthy and highly nutritious food source".
They can constitute "an alternative source of protein to support the transition to a more sustainable food system", because insect farming has a limited ecological footprint compared to other sources of protein, explains the Commission.
Authorization formalized in the coming weeks
Insects had already been marketed in the EU, especially in organic grocery stores, because some countries felt that they were not covered by the previous European regulation on "novel foods" requiring a green light to be sold.
But the regulations applied since January 2018 explicitly consider insects as food, subject to the need for a marketing authorization.
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It is estimated that a thousand species are consumed in Africa, Asia and Latin America by millions of people.
But in the EU, insect farms (a few thousand tonnes produced per year) are mainly used to feed farm animals, especially fish.
The European authorization will be formalized "in the coming weeks".
Agronutris has a "sesame currently unique in Europe"
The French company Agronutris, which seized the EU in 2018 to be authorized to market food made from mealworms, is pleased to have obtained "a sesame currently unique in Europe".
"The company benefits from an exclusivity of five years to market its insects," she said in a reaction sent to AFP.
According to her, European regulations authorize the marketing of mealworms "whole for snacking, for example grilled and flavored for the aperitif" as well as ground into powder, "within the limit of 10% in cereal bars for sportsmen, cookies, pasta or prepared meals ".
Eleven further marketing applications for insects have been submitted to the EU. EFSA, based in Parma (Italy), focuses in particular on crickets and grasshoppers. Ynsect, French leader in the production of insect meal for animal feed, has also developed "an ingredient based on deoiled insect protein" to make "energy bars", but is awaiting a European green light.