The European Union has approved mealworms as a legitimate form of food that could be consumed, making it the world’s first ever form of insects to be legally considered as food. Mealworms can now be consumed whole or as powder in pasta. Yellow mealworm finger foods, smoothies, biscuits, pasta and burgers could soon be mass produced across Europe. However, the EU Commission is yet to endorse the decision.
The idea of using mealworms as food is yet to catch up globally, since the ‘eww’ factor is still prevalent. But, this has the potential to catch on and give competition to the Medittereanean diet and the France’s ‘bon gout’. This might, however, cause an allergic reaction to those who have a shellfish allergy and such. They are likely to suffer a reaction to the Tenebrio molitor larvae, whether eaten in powder form as part of a recipe or as a crunchy snack, perhaps dipped in chocolate.
Fed even on bio-waste, the insects used significantly less water than livestock, and could be farmed more easily, said the FAO. “For example, pigs produce 10-100 times more greenhouse gases per kilogram (pound) than mealworms,” the UN agency said.
The insect’s main components are protein, fat and fibre, offering a potentially sustainable and low carbon-emission source of food for the future. When dried, the maggot-like insect is said to taste a lot like peanuts.