The EU commission has authorised the sale of migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria) for human consumption. Businesses in member states can now sell frozen, dried, and powder forms of the species anywhere in the European Union. The authorisation was announced on November 12th.
The new rule also lays down labelling requirements. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) notes that migratory locusts may lead to allergic reactions, particularly for those with pre-existing allergies to crustaceans, dust mites, and molluscs.
Europe’s emerging edible insect market has long been hamstrung by regulatory ambiguities. The locust authorisation is the product of ongoing work by the EU Commission and EFSA to establish a Europe-wide regulatory framework for edible insect sale. This would harmonise the uneven patchwork of national laws that currently govern the sector.
Work on clarifying EU law around edible insects began in January 2018 with EU Regulation No. 2015/2283. The regulation classified insects as a novel food that required authorisation from the ESFA before going on sale. The 2018 regulation exempted businesses in EU member states from having to wait for product authorisations if they had begun operation before 2018. However, some member states ruled that businesses still had to await EU authorisation for their products.
Locusts are the second insect food to receive authorisation from the EFSA. In January 2021, the dried yellow mealworm became the first edible insect approved for sale in the EU. Flours made from the house cricket (A. domesticus) are still under consideration.
This increasing legal harmonisation is set to expand intra-EU trade in insect food products. Currently, most edible insect businesses sell within their respective national markets, but an IPIFF market research survey reported that 88 percent of respondents intend to focus sales across the EU market by 2025.
The 2021 authorisations track growing Western consumer interest in insect proteins. Although the Asia-Pacific remains the dominant market, insect protein sales are now booming in Europe and the US. In 2019, 9 million Europeans had tasted insects and insect-derived products at least once. By 2030 this figure is set to reach 390 million. The rising popularity of edible insects is down to their health and environmental credentials. As well as being less land and water-intensive to produce than animal protein, insects are also rich in energy and minerals. Locusts rival animal meat for nutritional quality.
On the supply side, EU insect food businesses are most concentrated in the UK where there were 14 operators in 2019 that make up 23.7% of the EU total. Germany and Belgium were home to 7 insect food businesses in 2019. France and the Netherlands had 6 each and Denmark and Finland 5 each. Insect foods are mainly sold online. Physical sales occur largely through direct distribution by farms. Other channels are restaurants and specialist stores.
