Emerging ento-vegetarians: Edible insect industry gets legal clarity following Brexit

02 Dec 2022 --- Insect-consumption advocate Woven has scored a crucial win in its fight to have insect protein recognized as a part of the human food chain. After various post-Brexit woes, Woven’s lobbying to UK Parliament to accept the inherent safety and value of insects has resulted in an agreement that potentially paves the way for insect protein to become a primary industry.

Following Brexit the sector has been in limbo regarding the legal status of edible insects in the UK with Woven advocating that insects are safe to eat and could be part of a future shift which will see increasing numbers of ento-vegetarians worldwide.

Effectively, parliament has agreed to open up the GB market for products containing several different edible insects, including mealworms, grasshoppers, crickets and locust. Following a debate in the House of Commons earlier this week, Parliament agreed to give the edible insect transitional measures in the UK, the green light.

While the burgeoning insect industry in Europe has been picking up pace recently with recent EU approvals for crickets and mealworms edging them closer to the European dinner plate, edible insect progression in Britain has been held up post-Brexit. 

But this development marks the end of a long effort by Woven to clarify various ambiguous post-Brexit legal standings for the insect market. In the wake of this news, Nick Rousseau, Founder of Woven, explains to FoodIngredientsFirst the benefits, troubles and future of insect farming.

“Edible insects can provide consumers with a good alternative to meat when looking for protein in their diet. We need multiple alternatives to be available as everyone has their preferences and needs,” he explains.  

Rousseau is keen to champion insect farming as a viable alternative to plant-based alternatives.

“Plant-based products do not meet all our nutritional needs and can be farmed intensively, causing environmental damage. Edible insects can be farmed on a small scale across the country anywhere where there are suitable organic byproducts - opening up new revenue-generating opportunities for farmers and others in the food supply chain.” 

“The environmental footprint of farmed insects is generally much smaller than livestock farming – a number of our members are working with partners to carry out Life Cycle Assessments to prove this,” flags Rousseau. 

Woven hopes this recent approval by the UK government will open the door to further progress. Brexit troubles 
Rousseau is glad to have navigated out of the Brexit legal fog. “Post-Brexit was a challenging period, and it remains the case that it makes trading challenging,” he continues.

“Our members lacked clarity on the legal status of edible insect products, which had wide-ranging impacts – some closed down following instructions from Environmental Health Officers, while others were allowed to continue. A number were in discussions with major supermarket chains about product development or sales, yet they had to stop. Securing insurance was impossible for many.”

Following limited approval from the UK government, Rousseau already has plans to take insect proteins to the EU.

“Trading internationally has also been challenging, especially with Europe,” he explains.

“We formed a positive relationship with the Food Standards Agency, but they were obliged to comply with the legal position and have minimal capacity. They were supportive, yet it took a lot of time for them to get legal advice on exactly what the situation is in the UK after Brexit.”

“Thankfully, we have excellent relationships with our European counterparts – both the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) and the national associations, especially the Belgian Insect Industry Federation. We have formed strong collaborations enabling us to prepare and submit applications for Novel Food approval,” observes Rousseau.  

Insect-based diets are growing in popularity across the EU but still face many legal hurdles. Novel foods
Woven’s successful lobbying came at a high price. The transition agreement only covers seven insect varieties: Lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus larvae), house cricket (Acheta domesticus), yellow mealworm (Tenebrio Molitor), banded or decorated cricket (Gyllodes sigallatus), bird grasshopper / desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) and black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens larvae).

“We are convinced that edible insects are very safe and nutritious, but the fact that they are categorized as Novel Foods creates a huge and costly barrier to trading,” says Rousseau.

“The dossier for Acheta Domesticus that we prepared with the support of BIFF is over 100 pages and required bespoke laboratory testing and analysis, costing around US$105,000.”

These costs primarily result from establishing the safety of insect consumption, something Rousseau takes seriously.

“Humanity faces a significant threat in the form of climate change and this needs to be balanced against the low risk of anyone becoming ill from eating a product containing an edible insect. 

Insects over plants 
Rousseau understands that consumers may have mixed feelings about choosing insects over plant-based food and asserts that insect-based foods provide a viable other option.

“If insects and plants are better for the environment than meat, then offering more different ways to get your protein can contribute to a more sustainable world,” he says.

“There are amino acids in insects that you cannot get from plant-based protein. If you are vegetarian and want a good diet while reducing your environmental impact, then including some insect-based products makes a lot of sense.” 

Rousseau positions insect-based diets as a potential part of ento-veganism. 

“Vegans want to minimize the suffering of creatures, yet intensive agriculture (such as soy and almond) is hugely damaging and leads to widespread destruction of ecosystems, including insects and other creatures. We are coming across some ento-vegans who are vegan but also include insects in their diet to meet their nutritional needs and balance impact on the environment.” 

By James Davies