Edible Insects: More Than Just Protein

13 Apr 2016 –- UK ‘Ento-preneurs’ and academics met at the 1st Annual Woven Network conference, earlier this week at the University of Nottingham to tackle the future of insect protein in human and animal consumption. The planet’s population is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, and current food production will need to almost double. In 2013 the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization stressed that a new approach to food production was crucial if we are to avoid future shortages. Their suggestion: edible insects.

Around 2 billion people around the world already consume insects as part of their regular diet due to their high nutritional value, versatility and flavor. But it is their sustainability credentials that has lead the UN to highlight insects as the potential future of food, requiring minimal resources to farm and producing substantially less waste than conventional livestock.

Despite the obvious benefits, Western society is yet to adopt the practice on a large scale. With influence over farming R&D and investment, the UK can play a pivotal role in developing the infrastructure behind insect farming for the benefit of future generations.

Speaking at the event Josh Bentham co-founder of 'Mophagy says their aim is to support the EU entomophagy market by providing quality ingredients at affordable prices: “We are only concentrating on the raw ingredient but fortunately the raw ingredient answers to lots of different markets,” he says. “We are working with online health sites that are looking to develop new products and restaurants who say that the umami quality in mealworm and crickets are exactly what they are looking for in new recipes and ideas.”

Neil Whippey, Co-Founder of Eat Grub Ltd noted that there is a lot of high quality insect product appearing in Europe too. “This is important because insects are spoken about often in terms sustainability and we live in a world where people now want local produce,” he tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “Although we currently import from Canada, and will continue to do so, there are options appearing in Europe as well. In Holland, there is Proti-Farm, a company dedicated to producing insect protein for human consumption. In France, there is Ynsect. In the UK there are a number of insect farms appearing, including our own, which has been growing and developing process for 18 months, Entovista” he notes.

“Now it's not just a novelty product but its adding something to the flavor, taste and representation of that,” says Bentham.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst Gary Bartlett, founder of Bush-Grub said: Our freeze dried and roasted crickets products taste like peanuts, if you shut your eyes and eat them you would definitely think you’re eating peanuts. Mealworms taste like popcorn and locusts taste like pistashio nuts,” he claims.

The expense of these delicacies, however, cannot be ignored. “Cricket flour can be quite expensive to buy,” says Bartlett. “At roughly £40 ($56.85) a kilo, a lot of the protein bars we are seeing have a small amount of flour in. The point of cricket flour is the 68% protein, and if you put it in a tiny bar you're only getting a protein hit of around 5 – 10%.”

“Eventually when the price goes down, I think there will be more protein content in the bars,” says Bartlett.

Bentham also highlights the importance of re-imagining the future of food through insects: “There's a lot being done in terms of the research about the protein levels of insects but what excites me is everything else that come with it,” he claims. “There have been links to Alzheimer's, the calcium and iron levels in insects hasn’t even been tested yet but that will certainly start to develop.”

The cost is astronomical for this product because the farming processes in place are 20, if not 30 years behind agriculture at the moment. The only way that we are going to get and perfect this is for the west to invest, and products being produced that go in to niches but that money is being re invested and that’s getting to better farming techniques and that is is what will bring the costs down.” explains Bentham.

A growing number of entrepreneurs and researchers in the UK have been looking into the aversion of insects in the food chain and how they can change minds.

by Elizabeth Kenward

Main Picture (bug stir fry): Courtesy of Eatgrub.co.uk
Recipe: marcus leach - marcusleach.co.uk
Photography: Sander Jurkiewicz
sanderjurkiewicz.com

Other pictures: Insect based treats from Yumpa and Jimini's