ENTOMOPHAGY: the BENEFITS of INSECTS in NUTRITION Claire Chaudhry Community Entomophagy Is the Term Used for Eating Insects
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FOOD & DRINK ENTOMOPHAGY: THE BENEFITS OF INSECTS IN NUTRITION Claire Chaudhry Community Entomophagy is the term used for eating insects. NHS Dietitian/ Freelance Over 2,000 species of insects are consumed by humans Dietitian, BCUHB worldwide, mainly in tropical regions. The insect’s eggs, (NHS) and Private larvae, pupae, as well as the body have been eaten by humans from prehistoric times to the present day. In Claire’s 15 years of experience, The most popular insects consumed she has worked by humans around the world include in acute and beetles at 31%, caterpillars at 18%, community NHS settings. Claire wasps, bees and ants at 15%, crickets, has taught grasshoppers and locusts combined nutrition topics at universities make up 13%, true bugs make up 11% the regulations, insects do occasionally and colleges and and termites, dragonflies and others end up in our food, e.g. on a leaf of your regularly provides 1 talks to groups, make up the remaining 12%. organic lettuce, or perhaps in a box of NHS and private. Entomophagy has been presented cereal. www.dietitian to the United Kingdom (UK) public claire.com with programmes like Back in Time for WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF Dinner (2015) and Doctor in the House EATING INSECTS? For full article (2016). These popular TV series featured A sustainable food source for the references episodes presenting insects as a food planet please email source with mixed opinions. Who can With a growing global concern over the info@ networkhealth forget anxious celebrities watched by increasing population throughout the group.co.uk millions in I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of world and the unsustainable practices Here! participating in bush tucker trials used for modern factory farming of eating insects as part of a punishing animals, the future could be food task! shortages globally. These very real reasons enable the growing popularity WE ALREADY CONSUME INSECTS AND of eating insects, which may prove to be INSECT BY-PRODUCTS a more sustainable dietary change and Honey is consumed all around the world or dietary addition. and is a by-product of bees that chew Insects are extremely plentiful and the pollen collected from flowers and have a large biodiversity (variety) and regurgitate this as honey to feed their are found in nearly all environments. young. Cochineal, a red food colouring, Insects have a high feed conversion is made from crushed scale insects and efficiency, which is the capacity to has been used for many years in food convert feed mass into increased body products. Cochineal is found in red mass, represented as kg of feed per kg of cup cakes, pastries, yoghurts, juices weight gain. (Crickets need 2kg of feed and sausages. According to European per 1kg of body weight; cattle require food law, there is no published list of 12kg to produce the same amount of ‘tolerant’ levels of insect bodies/matter weight gain.) permitted in food. Food businesses Insect farming requires less water are expected to meet ‘Article 14’ of in the farming of other animals, e.g. Regulation (EC) 178/2002 2. Despite cattle, chickens and pigs. Insects also www.NHDmag.com February 2018 - Issue 131 35 FOOD & DRINK emit less greenhouse gases which are harmful to order to process 100gm of cricket flour/cricket the environment, compared with cattle, chicken powder an average of 1,000-1,100 crickets are and pigs. They also have fewer welfare issues required and cricket flour/powder cost ranges (although how insects experience pain is still between £5 and £10 per 100gm. unknown by entomologists).They also pose a Four brands of cricket flour’s nutritional low risk of transmitting zoonotic infections. composition were compared: ‘Cornish Edible Insect rearing or farming is inexpensive, Insects’, ‘Eat Grub’, ‘Crunchy critters’ and making it a useful livelihood in the poorest ‘Nutribug’ (see Table 1). Energy per 100gm of sections of the world, also, it does not require the cricket flour/powder was an average of 475 clearing of land to expand production. Manual calories. Protein content in cricket flour/powder collection of wild insects could potentially save was very high with an average of 64gm protein crops by increasing production and reduce the per 100gm. Rumpold and Schluter found that need for pesticides.1,3 100gm crickets Acheta domesticus (based on dry matter) farmed in America contained between PROTEIN CONTENT OF INSECTS 55-70gm of protein (cricket flour/powder is a “Many edible insects provide satisfactory amounts of high calorie and high protein food4). energy and protein for human consumption.”4 The nutritional values of edible insects are Hazardous chemicals comparable with highly variable because of the huge diversity of commonly protein rich foods species. Even within the same group of edible An evaluation of the literature looked at the insect species, values differ depending on the prevalence of hazardous chemicals, e.g. PCBs, stage or lifecycle of the insect, their habitat, DDT (a pesticide) and metals found in European temperature and their diet. Like with most Union (EU) farmed crickets Acheta domesticus. food, preparation and processing methods (e.g. The study concluded that levels of several drying, boiling or frying) before consumption hazardous chemicals were relatively low in also influence the nutritional composition. farmed EU crickets and that they were similar or even lower than those measured in other Cricket flour commonly eaten foods such as meat, fish and The history of eggs.5 dietary patterns change, one ex- WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO EATING INSECTS ample is the accept- IN THE UK? ance of raw fish Consumer acceptance as sushi in the There is a limited amount of data on consumer UK; 40 years ago perception and acceptance of eating insects, this would have particular in the UK. In an area of Laos, South been unthinkable. Thus, cricket flour or cricket East Asia, a national survey looking at the powder seems a more visually acceptable prevalence of insect consumption surveyed introduction to entomophagy. In fact, there are over 1,059 adults. The results found that 96% a number of products sold in the UK and other consumed insects and entomophagy was widely countries already, e.g. United States of America accepted in this part of the world.6 Nearer and Canada use crickets for flour/powder, to home, a small study conducted on Italian flavoured energy bars and pasta. consumers showed that negative comments The cricket flour available to purchase in the from family members and friends seemed to UK is made from either two species of crickets: underline the importance of others’ opinions the house cricket Acheta domesticus (AD) and (especially a negative attitude) as a strong barrier the Thailand native cricket, also known as the against entomophagy.7 Mediterranean field cricket Gryllas bimaculatus. 2015 saw the launch of ‘Grub Kitchen’, Manufacturers report that the insects come from the first insect restaurant in Wales based in St farms either in the Netherlands or Thailand. In David’s, Pembrokeshire.8 Grub Kitchen has 36 www.NHDmag.com February 2018 - Issue 131 Table 1: Nutritional composition of four cricket flour/powder brands per 100gm Nutrients per Cornish Edible Eat Grub (species Crunchy Critters Nutribug AD 100gm cricket Insects AD (label) not on label) AD (website) (website) flour/powder Calories (Kcal) 472 501 518 457 Protein (gm) 58.5 61.8 56.8 67.8 Carbohydrate (gm) 8.4 8.5 5.5 5.5 Of which is sugar 4 0.5 0.5 2.8 (gm) Total fat (gm) Not listed 24 29.3 18.2 SFA (gm) 8.48 8.48 10.5 5.6 MUFA (gm) 5.14 5.14 7.9 Not listed PUFA (gm) 9.09 9.09 9.4 Not listed Trans fat (gm) Not listed Not listed 0.29 0.14 Fibre (gm) 6 6 2.3 <0.5 Vitamin B2 (mg) Not listed Not listed Not listed 3.20 Vitamin B12 (mg) Not listed 0.024 (24mcg) Not listed Not listed Calcium (mg) 1.1 0.11 Not listed 125 Iron (mg) 0.025 2.5 5.04 5.04 Phosphorus (mg) Not listed 705 Not listed Not listed Potassium (mg) 11 1.1 Not listed Not listed Salt (gm) Not listed (sodium Not listed (sodium 0.6 Not listed 3.1mg) 0.31mg) been promoting entomophagy as an alternative as a result of a rise in cochineal consumption protein source amongst school children in from the trend of red cupcakes.12 There has also London. Food cooked by Andy Holcroft, been an increase in the number of histamine head chef, includes black ant and cheese pate, poisoning and/or scombroid poisoning alongside cricket and cauliflower bhaji. Reported outbreaks occurring from consuming insects. comments from the school children included These conditions can result in flushing and “delicious” and “disgusting”.9 urticarial rashes of the skin, headache, nausea, diarrohea and vomiting. In worst cases, patients Allergic reactions develop respiratory and breathing problems.13 Studies looking at particular allergens causing allergic reactions in humans were found in Lack of clear policy for the UK insects. These allergens are also present in other European legislation via regulation EC 258/97 animals that are part of the food chain including (repealed from January 2018 by regulation EU crustaceans, e.g. crab, lobster, prawn and shrimp. 2015/2283) states that all insect-based products The same allergens have also been detected in (not only parts of insects or extracts, but whole dust mites and nematodes, e.g. worms.10 These insects and their preparation) belong to one of allergens are not fully understood and for safety the categories of ‘Novel Food’. In the UK, the reasons recommendations have been made that Food Standards Agency (FSA) classifies cricket any food label derived from insects now has flour/powder as a Novel Food and from June to state allergy awareness.11 Dr Isabel Skypala, 2017 requires a Novel Food safety assessment Allergy Dietitian reported in June 2017 in The from all suppliers of insects used for human Telegraph that allergies in adults have increased consumption.14 www.NHDmag.com February 2018 - Issue 131 37 FOOD & DRINK Microbiological contamination and provided 705mg in 100gm of ‘Eat Grub’ A study pyrosequencing microbial counts of cricket flour, which is high and comparable to Gryllus bimaculatus cricket flour/powder drinking 750ml of semi-skimmed milk.