Tenebri Molitor larvae, rich in nutrients.
Breads, pasta and cheeses of supermarkets and bakeries began to contain flour of the tenebri beetle larvae – a sustainable source of proteins and other nutrients. But for many, the idea continues to cause revulsion.
A lot of people lose their appetite just thinking of “animals” in the food. This reaction is what scientists call “alimentary”: Certain animals, plants or fungi, although edible, are considered unacceptable in the context of a particular cultural space or social group and, therefore, are not consumed.
Hindus practitioners do not eat cow, Muslims and Jews reject pork; And in Western cultures, many have an aversion to insects. However, they are part of the feeding of about two billion human beings, especially in parts of Africa, Asia, Central America and the South, according to estimates from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – More than two thousand insect species are considered edible.
Now, for the first time in the European Union (EU), it will be possible to include flour made with larvae in food for human consumption. This is the larval state of Besouro Dark molitorbetter known as Farvah, Pullized. Don’t worry: your bread doesn’t come with worms, whole caterpillars or fried crickets.
High protein flour can be added in small quantities to bread, cakes and similar products, mass e Processed potato or cheese products.
For each insect added to their products, manufacturers must require a license under the “Novel Food” regulation – foods that had not been significantly consumed by humans in the EU before May 15, 1997. European Food Security (EFSA) makes an exhaustive scientific assessment.
As maximum quantities of larvae flour are modest: in breads and cakes, only four grams are allowed for every 100 grams of the final product; In cheese, no more than a grass. Irradiation with ultraviolet rays eliminates eventual pathogens, as well as increasing the vitamin D3 rate on dust.
Miraculous food?
The larvae of this beetle contain important nutrients as ferro, zinc e B vitamins B complex. The newly listed flour has a Protein content from 50% to 55%including all nine essential amino acids, healthy fats and food fibers.
In addition, the production of larvae flour is less harmful to the climate than that of traditional protein sources such as cows, pigs or chickens. Insects require less water, less feed and less space, and fewer greenhouse gases.
But… are bread and cheese already made with animals?
A critique of the permission of larvae flour is its animal origin, but for a long time animal components have been present in bakery, pasta and cheese products. But it is not easy to identify them as they are hidden behind additives or technical terms.
To make the mass more malleable, for example, Industrial bakeries use L-Cysteine (E920)an amino acid often extracted from pigs or penaltieswhich does not have to be declared.
Nearly 35% of cheese sold contains liquid curda set of enzymes from the stomach of ruminants, usually calves, which break down the lactic proteins, thickening the milk, without making it acidic by separating the solid components from the liquids.
Many foods also contain jelly. This protein mixture, removal of the skin and bones of cattle and pigs, stabilizes sauces and cooked, thickens fresh cheeses and agglutates the flakes and grains of cereal bars.
Insects were authorized in the EU in 2021
Since 2021, four insects have been authorized for human consumption in the European Union, usually in dehydrated and sprayed form: the larvae of beetles Dark molitor e Alphitobius diaperinusthe grasshopper-migratory (Locust Migratio) and the domestic cricket (Arceticus).
These are already found, among many others, in meat and bakery products, pasta, bread and pizza mixtures, package snacks, chocolate, cheese, jams, muesli and granola or cereal bars.
And “currently, there are 5 requests for insects to be marketed in different ways, which are subject to a security assessment by AESA,” says the European.
Those who make a point of avoiding them should carefully read the list of ingredients, because, according to EU regulations, the insects present in food have to be declared specifically, as well as how they are used. Finally, the packaging should contain a warning about any reactions in allergic consumers to crustaceans, mollusks and domestic mites.
