Eating Insects: ANSES Examines the Risks and Implications

  To feed the world’s population by 2030, the FAO supports the development of insect farming. With this in mind, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has conducted a review of the scientific literature on the potential risks associated with entomophagy.   Currently, 2,086 species of insects are consumed in 130 countries around the world (primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America) by approximately two billion people. The most “popular” are:

• the larvae or adults of Orthoptera (crickets, locusts, and grasshoppers) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants);
• the larvae of Coleoptera (weevils and longhorn beetles);
• the caterpillars and pupae of Lepidoptera (butterflies);
• certain adults of Isoptera (termites) or aquatic Hemiptera (water bugs).

  In an opinion* published yesterday, ANSES issued several recommendations:

• establish a list, at the European level, of the various species that are edible or not;
• increase research efforts in this emerging sector;
• scientifically explore the issue of animal welfare for these categories of invertebrates;
• define specific guidelines for the rearing conditions of insects and their products to ensure risk control;
• establish measures to prevent allergic risks for consumers and professionals.

  In Europe, entomophagy is gaining ground. The potential health risks associated with this type of diet—for both humans and animals—warrant further study and should be managed through the establishment of appropriate standards and a regulatory framework. According to the agency, the risks inherent in this new protein source are primarily due to:

• chemical substances: venoms, antinutritional factors, veterinary drugs used in insect farms, pesticides, or organic pollutants in the environment or in insect feed, etc.;
• physical agents: hard parts of insects such as stingers, rostrums, legs, and wings;
• allergens common to many arthropods (mites, crustaceans, mollusks, etc.);
• pathogens or microorganisms (parasites, viruses, bacteria and their toxins, fungi) that may be present in insects and in finished products;
• rearing and production conditions.

  Furthermore, as with other foods of animal or plant origin, edible insects may become unfit for human consumption if the preservation techniques used are not appropriate.   Thus, in a context of uncertainty and a lack of data, ANSES’s work highlights the need for a comprehensive risk assessment of health risks, a study of the environmental development and impact of insect production compared to other protein sources, focusing on major challenges in terms of knowledge, nutritional benefits, and societal acceptance of these new foods. Eating insects on a larger scale cannot be done on the fly.   * ANSES Opinion on “The Use of Insects in the Diet and the Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Health Risks Associated with Insect Consumption,” April 9, 2015.