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Mealworms approved as safe human food by the European Union

lpetrich

lpetrich

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Yellow mealworm safe for humans to eat, says EU food safety agency | Food safety | The Guardian - "Move paves way for high-protein maggot-like insect to be approved for consumption across Europe"
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.

Ermolaos Ververis, a scientific officer at the agency, said: “This first EFSA risk assessment of an insect as novel food can pave the way for the first EU-wide approval. Our risk evaluation is a decisive and necessary step in the regulation of novel foods by supporting policymakers in the EU in making science-based decisions and ensuring the safety of consumers.”

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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.
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Mealworms are grubs, immature forms of the beetle Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle.

I think that they could be presented as "land shrimp", because insects' closest relatives are crustaceans.
 
lpetrich said:
I think that they could be presented as "land shrimp", because insects' closest relatives are crustaceans.
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I had bugs for lunch.

INDIANATODBanquetBeetlescreenshot2.jpg
 
Well, they are called MEAL worms.

Meal worm couscous. Yum.
 
They also come in different sizes. I use them to feed birds at certain times of the year, and they also make a decent fishing bait. I always wanted to take a nibble.
 
Why wouldn't they? The EU is not a Christian organization, they have no obligation to follow obscure religious dietary laws.
 
Might make people take a second look at TVP and quinoa sourced of protein.

Funny, quinoa, amaranth, and chia are actually very very healthy foods and a rare great animal free protein source and were very abundant in the Americas... until the Spanish nearly destroyed it all in their conquests to destroy the grains due to their role in local culture.
 
When the woman who later became my second wife and I moved into our first apartment, she invited her sister and her boyfriend for lunch. She had a recipe for hamburgers which used Italian bread crumbs an egg to make the meat patties. I entertained our guests while she prepared lunch. When the table was set, my future wife decided to only have a salad. Everyone enjoyed the meal and a good time was had by all.

After they waved goodbye, I found my girlfriend sitting at the table with tears streaming down her face. She explained her distress. She dumped the Italian breadcrumbs in the bowl with the hamburger and eggs, and as she mixed, realized the crumbs were infested with weevils. Little black bugs were crawling all over. There was no more hamburger in the fridge and no more breadcrumbs in the pantry. She kept mixing until there was no visible movement, made the patties and popped them under the broiler.

I certainly couldn't tell the difference. I mean, if you are what you eat, weevils are just more breadcrumbs, right?
 
I suppose it only matters if the ingredients are crawling after​ you cook them.
 
Well, making her guests unknowingly eat bugs was bad, but making them go hungry and ruining the afternoon would have been worse, so she chose, well, you know...
 
We all unknowingly eat bugs, they're all over our food products. This isn't really a problem, since there are no negative health consequences to consuming insects, and no negative mental consequences from an activity you are unaware of.
 
Bronzeage said:
When the woman who later became my second wife and I moved into our first apartment, she invited her sister and her boyfriend for lunch. She had a recipe for hamburgers which used Italian bread crumbs an egg to make the meat patties. I entertained our guests while she prepared lunch. When the table was set, my future wife decided to only have a salad. Everyone enjoyed the meal and a good time was had by all.

After they waved goodbye, I found my girlfriend sitting at the table with tears streaming down her face. She explained her distress. She dumped the Italian breadcrumbs in the bowl with the hamburger and eggs, and as she mixed, realized the crumbs were infested with weevils. Little black bugs were crawling all over. There was no more hamburger in the fridge and no more breadcrumbs in the pantry. She kept mixing until there was no visible movement, made the patties and popped them under the broiler.

I certainly couldn't tell the difference. I mean, if you are what you eat, weevils are just more breadcrumbs, right?
Click to expand...

True story. I did that with a bowl of raisin bran that had obviously been around too long. I was just about finished and noticed what I thought were little beetles. So I dumped more cereal out and it was full of the little beasties. I didn't notice a difference in taste or texture or smell so the guys were good I guess.
 
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