the main points
- Singapore has just approved 16 insect species for human consumption, while Australia has only approved three.
- The emerging industry faces many challenges, including negative connotations around eating insects.
- Compared to conventional meat varieties, insect protein production requires much fewer resources.
Singapore recently approved 16 insects for human consumption – including four species of cockroaches, two species of locusts, two species of moths and giant rhinoceros beetle larvae.
A restaurant in the Southeast Asian country is already preparing to sell lychee balls with crunchy chilli crickets and sushi topped with silkworms, The Straits Times reported.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been considering edible insects as an environmentally friendly way to meet the nutritional needs ofIt is something that has been increasingly promoted in the years since.
Insects can have a nutty or meaty flavour if cooked as is, but they can also be processed into meat products with a less neutral taste. source: GT / Evan
The Australian Scientific and Industrial Research Agency (CSIRO) also stressed the need for more sustainable forms of protein production to meet future global demand.
Demand in Australia is huge; we are one of the world’s biggest meat eaters, with each person consuming an average of 110kg of meat a year.
But as an unfamiliar food source to many of the cultures that call Australia home, could insects become a common ingredient here?
Benefits of insect protein
Insects are a good source of protein and iron, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Edible Insects Report showed that insects are a more sustainable alternative to conventional meat.
The land use of crickets and mealworms is much less than that of animals raised on conventional farms, as the former can be stacked vertically in industrial warehouses.
While producing 100 grams of beef requires more than 160 square meters of land, the same amount of mealworms can be produced using only 1.8 square meters of land.
Crickets and mealworms require less water and feed than cows, pigs and chickens, and produce about 5 percent of the carbon emissions that cows do.
There is also much less waste when it comes to eating insects, as while 40 percent of a cow’s body is considered edible, the entire mealworm can be eaten.
What insect foods can you buy in Australia?
Australia has approved three species of insects for human consumption.
Super mealworms, house crickets and mealworm beetles can be grown and processed whole, ground or in paste form.
They can be eaten as insects or as larvae.
The above species are considered ‘novel foods’ requiring regulatory approval as they have not traditionally been consumed in Australia.
In addition, there are more than 60 different species of native insects such as witchetty caterpillars and
There is great potential for these species to be incorporated into food on a wider scale, said Ishka Bliss, a PhD student whose research focuses on insects as food.
“There are many communities that know how to prepare insects in ways that make them very tasty,” said Bliss, a researcher at the University of Adelaide and the University of Nottingham.
“We have to acknowledge that and learn from that traditional knowledge, but we also have to understand how it can be integrated using modern food technology methods.”
Most insect farming in Australia was for black soldier fly larvae to feed to animals, Bliss said.
Wichetti larvae are one of many native insects traditionally eaten by Aboriginal people in Australia. source: GT / Tobias Tietz
Emerging industry
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation estimates that the alternative protein industry could be worth more than $4 billion domestically and another $2.5 billion in exports by 2030.
But Bliss said the current cost of raising insects for human consumption in Australia is high and demand is low, which has slowed growth.
“Traditionally, if you’re looking at a growing or emerging food industry, which is what it is right now, production is very expensive and there’s little demand which makes it difficult to move forward,” she said.
“We face not only the challenges of developing a new industry technically, but also the challenge of consumer acceptance.”
Previous attitudes toward eating insects were difficult to overcome, Bliss said.
“Most Australians grow up knowing insects outside the context of food, and we are more familiar with insects as a pest or a source of contamination,” she said.
“When we encounter insects in the context of food, we know nothing about them, and we have negative connotations.”
Part of the challenge in growing the industry will be to educate Australians, she said.
More work is needed to determine the most viable methods of raising insects, Bliss said.
She said insect species needed to be taken into account as well as the potential for using by-products to feed the agri-food industry and use the energy required.
“If we can integrate that with the agri-food industry so we can balance the energy use in production,” she said.
Eating insects around the world
Worldwide, edible insect products include protein bars, falafel, flour, beer, milk, desserts, and ice cream.
Insects contain flavor compounds typically associated with meat, nuts or very savory foods, so they can be substituted for a variety of ingredients and used to flavor dishes, Bliss said.
She added that insects could also be used to produce ingredients with less distinctive flavour.
“These ingredients usually have a less intense flavour, so they are more neutral, and can be added to a range of different food ingredients,” Bliss said.
Insect burgers made from mealworm protein tend to have a taste similar to falafel. source: GT / flake
It has been shown that some people who are allergic to shellfish products may have a reaction to insect protein, so accurate labelling of any food containing insects is required in Australia.
Industry feasibility
Paula Bonal set up Western Australia’s first edible insect farm, Grubs Up, in 2016 after recognising their potential as a food source.
I recently traveled around the world researching the commercial viability of raising house crickets.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged the project, which was part of a scholarship Pownall received in 2020, she submitted her final report this week.
But at the same time, it made the decision to close its insect production facility.
She told SBS News she did not think insects would ever be a staple part of Australians’ daily diet.
“I think it will always be a privileged place in the first world countries.
“There will always be a ‘yuck’ factor… a certain segment of the human population will support edible insects, but I don’t think that will ever become mainstream,” she said.
“We’re not going to go to Coles and get three different kinds of muesli with bugs in them.”
Mealworms or Zophobus morio source: GT / Hamsterman image
Pownall cited several factors that contributed to her conclusion in her final report that cockroach production systems in Australia are currently not viable for the human food market.
These factors include high labor costs, lack of automation, preferred alternative protein choices, product education, and consumer attitudes.
“I think we really need to be careful about what the media and the government are promoting and publishing versus the reality,” she said.
Pownall believes there is greater potential for insects as a protein and additive in other products available on the Australian market.
“Once the price point drops, they will definitely enter the animal feed market, because animals just need the right price point and nutrition,” she added.
Pownall added that cosmetic products may use insects in their ingredient list.
“I think we will move towards adding more and more insects to food and medicine because of their nutritional properties.”
The Insect Protein Association of Australia told SBS News it did not have figures showing annual production levels of insects for human consumption in Australia.
However, a company spokesperson said they were aware of only two insect producers in the country that offered products for human consumption (one of which was Pownall).
“Edible insect producers have had to overcome some significant challenges including product development, educating consumers and stakeholders such as government and food agencies, helping formulate GMP policies and improving agricultural and commercial best practices,” the FAO spokesperson said.
