Insect protein consortium urges producers to rethink on-pack branding amid macroeconomic issues

25 Sep 2023 --- The ValuSect project – a consortium that promotes the use of insects as a sustainable source of protein – has showcased the main results of its research and innovation activities in insect-based food and feed in a recent conference. The consortium has also announced the launch of the ValuSect Accelerator Platform, an online tool to support entrepreneurs and researchers in the emerging insect sector.

In the conference, experts from academia, industry and policy discussed the current challenges and opportunities for insect proteins as a sustainable source of nutrition.

According to the panel of experts, the sector faces a myriad of challenges as the industry contends with an “economic storm” and problems attracting consumers, who have a “gut disgust reaction” to insects being sold as food-grade products in some parts of the world.

Label limitations
Dr. Sonja Floto-Stammen, senior lecturer and project developer at the Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands, explains that pictures and graphics on packaging “should avoid showing real insects” and instead include “recognizable food ingredients to mitigate disgust” and increase purchase probability.

She also highlights how companies could use abstracted images of insects in their products to increase visual appeal – such as small insect logos. Furthermore, she notes that taste claims are “more effective” at increasing product appeal than sustainability or nutritional claims.

“Insect-related terms in product names can trigger strong schema incongruence and negative associations. Neologisms in product names with indirect references to insects can create a positive attitude,” Floto-Stammen says. 

She lists some insect products and companies that failed in 2022, showcasing products such as “Cajun Cricket,” a product that features, in a considerably large font, the word “cricket.”

“We should differentiate the name product promoted [for marketing purposes] and the describing name [on the label], which can be smaller, a little bit more hidden,” she notes.

Floto-Stammen says that Cajun Cricket could have benefited from a more discreet labeling approach (All image Credits: ValuSect).However, while producers can avoid mentioning insects in marketing campaigns, it is a different case with labels. According to the European Commission, any food product must have a list of ingredients, including the Latin-specific name of the insects, indicated on the packaging. 

Moreover, information on insects must be clear and legible, using a conspicuous space, large font size and indelible ink. Additionally, the law requires that a warning about the possible cause of an allergic reaction be displayed on the label.

In related news, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently acknowledged yellow mealworm powder as a novel food. EFSA’s positive opinion closely followed the UK’s approval of crickets as a novel food.

Final authorization is expected in late 2023 or early 2024.

Children and insects
Experimentative by nature, most children are seen by the industry as a good demographic for insect protein products.

According to Toon Peters, project manager at ValuSect, “children are open and curious about insects,” often not having the same adverse gut reactions toward insects as most adults do.

“They are very good targets,” he highlights.

“We [the insect food business industry] need to capture the parents.” 

Economic headwinds
Meanwhile, Linda Grant, executive director at BIC Innovation, describes the current challenges for the emerging novel food companies and some of the actions policymakers can take to make insects for food and feed part of a sustainable future.

With the European Central Bank setting deposit rates at 4% and margin lending facility rates at 4.75%, emerging insect companies are forced to take loans at 10-12% interests, according to Grant.

Moreover, companies have had to deal with the “economic turbulence” of the pandemic, an energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, worldwide inflation, falling business and consumer confidence and the cost of living crisis. Four out of five insect food business companies are micro companies (below ten employees), which make them more vulnerable to these headwinds. 

EU and UK company bankruptcies are at multi-year highs, Grant notes. One strategy to overcome insect disgust is not to use realistic insect depictions.

The perfect storm for novel food producers could delay (by years) market arrival and consumer adoption of edible insects and governments will need to provide more R&D&I funds. 

They will also need to encourage state-owned development banks to invest in the sector, underwrite private investment, continue to approve novel food applications to remove regulatory barriers and find new avenues to improve knowledge and understanding of the industry.

Combating the anti-insect movement
FoodIngredientsFirst asked the panel of experts how the edible insect sector is dealing with strong opposition online and from some politicians in the EU.

“I don’t know yet how we can make a common effort against it,” admitted Peters from ValuSect.

He details that it is important they continue with the positive framing and communication of the industry, fact-check misinformation and inform consumers about food safety. “When there are novel foods, consumers should be aware there has been a large amount of regulatory action before their approval,” he says. 

In the same vein, Floto-Stammen says that the sector should ensure a positive framing, support an attractive narrative and foster effective communication and education.

However, a ban on edible insects before they reach mainstream adoption is a real possibility. 

For example, earlier this year, Italy banned the country’s food industry from producing cell-based foods to “protect culinary heritage.”

Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Salvini, said earlier this year regarding insect food, “We will oppose, by any means and in any place, this madness that would impoverish our agriculture and culture.” Furthermore, the country has already moved to ban insects in pasta and pizza production.

Mealworms fed with potato cuttings showed the highest protein content.Italian consumers are some of the most reluctant regarding incorporating insects into their diets. Only 17% of Italians say they will eat food with insect ingredients – compared to 40% of Mexicans, 25% of US and French citizens and 24% of Germans, data from a 2021 YouGov poll.

New insights on insect emissions
Researchers Siebe Berrens and Isabelle Noyens from Thomas More University and Carl Coudron, researcher at Inagro, reported their findings on the low emissions of mealworm, house cricket and black soldier fly.

They found that mealworms and crickets emit “neglectable” amounts of Ammonia. Moreover, mealworms produce 740 g of CO2 per kg in their lifetime and crickets 470 g, much less than broilers, which produce 5.3 kg. 

Noyens explored which side streams – horticultural foliage, potato cuttings, fermented chicory roots and unsold vegetables from auction – could be best valorized into sustainable feed for mealworms. Her research shows that the worm’s protein content was between 41% (when fed with potato cuttings ) and 52% (when fed with fermented chicory roots).

However, when fed with unwashed fermented chicory roots, the worms contained higher levels of heavy metals than the ones allowed in the EU for fresh meat but below the limits for crustacea – about five times less than the limit.

“The mealworms fed with unwashed acidic fermented chicory roots are available to accumulate heavy metals,” Noyens says. 

Moreover, the scientists do not recommend feeding the insects only with bread side streams, following a study with crickets – as it is “probably deficient in proteins, fat and other essential nutrients.” For use in chicken feed, a 33% bread mix was found to work.

ValuSect provides new companies with scientific support to optimize breeding, feeding, substrate and productivity with laboratory and pilot scale feed experiments – like the one on bread. They can also measure emissions, such as greenhouse gasses, to assess novel companies' environmental impact and sustainability.

By Marc Cervera