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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

edible insects

Ÿnsect Plans to Make Its Edible Mealworms Available for Human Consumption in Europe, the U.S.

From the locust to the Goliath Beetle, insects of many kinds are a regular part of people’s diets in many parts of the world, including Mexico, South Korea, Australia, and multiple African nations. In Western cultures, folks are far less excited about the prospect of eating bugs, though that is slowly changing. Just this week, the bugs-as-protein got another boost when Paris-based Ÿnsect announced it will enter the market for human food following a positive assessment of mealworms from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Up to now, Ÿnsect has historically always farmed insects to use as fish and pet food as well as fertilizer. Specifically, the company focuses on Molitor larvae, also known as the mealworm. Mealworms are the larvae form of the darkling beetle, and this week, the EFSA officially declared them fit for human consumption “under the procedures required by the European Union regarding new food legislation,” according to Ÿnsect’s press release.

“This is a recognition that mealworm ingredients are premium products as they are uniquely ‘food grade’ compared to other insects used only in animal feed,” the company said.

For Ÿnsect, that means a move towards farming mealworms for human consumption, especially as part of sports and nutrition edibles. Before any food businesses in Europe can enter the market, it must first file a Novel Food application and get it approved. Ÿnsect said this week it has already done so, and also plans to file a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) request in the U.S. “in the coming months.”

In Western countries, at least, there’s a well-documented “ick” factor when it comes to eating insects, Squirmy, slimy bits that they are, mealworms might require even more effort on the part of edible insect startups when it comes to helping consumers overcome their doubts. (We had our own heated discussion about mealworms last year on a weekly Spoon podcast.)

That said, our food has more insect parts than one might think, since it is “impossible” to completely remove all insects when harvesting and processing certain crops. Because of that, the USDA actually already permits a certain amount of insects or their parts in foods. In other words, Ÿnsect will in all likelihood receive GRAS for its mealworms once it files in the U.S.

In Europe, the company will compete with multiple others in bringing Molitor larvae to the masses. Notable among those is Sweden-based startup Tebrito, which raised €800,000 at the end of 2020 to scale up production of its nutrient-rich powder made from mealworms. And in Finland, EntoCube grows insects for human consumption. Outside Europe, Beobia has an at-home countertop device for growing mealworms in your own kitchen, should you so desire.

The EFSA’s recognition isn’t quite final: the favorable assessment has to be confirmed by European Commission’s Health Directorate General, which will give final market authorization for the European Union. 

Food Tech News: The Great Vending Machine Bug-Out, Food Tech Lawsuits Galore

We may be all-in on next-gen vending machines here at The Spoon, but does that mindset apply to those currently dispensing edible tarantula in a can? Read on to decide for yourself. Also, it’s another week another lawsuit for third-party food delivery services, this time in the booming online grocery sector.

Edible Insets Arrive in Japan’s Vending Machines

Japan, a country famous for its vending machine culture, has upped the ante recently by selling bugs out of these machines. Kotaku reports that, though still not terribly common, an increasing number of vending machines around the country now sell edible insects, from crickets to grasshoppers to (for the really adventurous soul) scorpion and tarantula. 

Now DoorDash Isn’t Getting Sued for Price-Gouging

DoorDash was dropped from a recent lawsuit that alleges third-party food delivery services used the pandemic as an excuse to price-gouge homebound New Yorkers. Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates are all named in the suit, too. The voluntary dismissal noted that consumers leading the suit “reserved the right to refile against DoorDash.”

Instacart Facing Lawsuit Over Service Fees

Grocery service Instacart faces a lawsuit alleging the company charged millions in “deceptive service fees” to customers and also failed to pay hundreds of thousands in sales tax. D.C. Customers were “tricked” into “believing they were tipping grocery delivery workers when, in fact, the company was charging them extra fees and pocketing the money,” said DC Attorney General Karl A. Racine, who filed the suit. Previously, Racine sued DoorDash over its former tipping policy for drivers. 

Food Tech News Roundup: More Crickets, Fewer Wobbly Tables

Happy Saturday! Hopefully you’ve got some pancakes and a hot liquid of your choice. Maybe you’re recovering from the Specialty Coffee Expo, like we are (check out the robot barista and connected coffee roasters we saw!). To kick off your weekend, we’ve rounded up some quick food tech stories from the week that caught our eye. Enjoy!

Edible insects leap forward in Canada
It was a big week for edible insect company Entomo Farms. First, Maple Leaf Foods, a company best known for its plant-based meat products, took a minority stake in the company. Secondly, food distributor Loblaws launched a cricket powder made with insects from Entomo Farms. These two updates are a big step towards introducing edible bugs into the mainstream — at least in Canada, where Maple Leaf and Loblaws are based.

Grubhub adds Venmo payment option
This week food delivery service Grubhub launched an update that will allow its customers to automatically split the cost of their food with Venmo, the Paypal-like app that lets you send money to friends, and request payments. This is a (smart) way that Grubhub is adding value, trying to distinguish itself from the competitive food delivery pool. Grubhub owns Eat24 and Seamless, so they’ll also offer the Venmo payment option.

Finally! A way to fix that wobbly table
You can stop wedging sugar packets and napkins under your wobbly restaurant tables — a pair of restauranteurs have developed a hydraulics system that will keep your table wobble-free, even on uneven floors. Customers can either purchase their FLAT table bases, which use fluid to expand or compress table feet, stabilizing the table, or if they don’t want to purchase all new furniture, there’s also a modular option which can replace screw-in table feet. A low-tech solution to a highly annoying problem.

The Food Corridor releases a guide for commercial kitchen spaces
On Tuesday The Food Corridor launched their Shared Kitchen Toolkit. The Food Corridor, which raised $555K in February, is an online platform which lets budding food entrepreneurs connect to shared commercial kitchen spaces. The web-based toolkit is geared not towards startups, but towards people who want to launch and manage a commercial kitchen space. Because with more shared kitchen spaces come more startups; if you build it, they will come.

Did we miss any food tech updates from the week? Tell us in the comments, or on twitter @thespoontech.

Forget Hot Dogs. Baseball Fare In 2018 Is All About Edible Insects

Grasshoppers have taken over Safeco Field, and I don’t mean the actual field where the game happens.

Stadium chef Taylor Park has added a number of items to this year’s menu for the Seattle Mariners’ home, ranging from gigantic short ribs to a conveyor belt-driven donut machine. And apparently, last year’s fried grasshoppers were such a hit, they’re back for a second year.

The food in the ballpark is almost as important as the game itself (or more, depending on who you talk to). But traditionally, game-goers want burgers, peanuts and lots and lots of hot dogs. You’d think the baseball crowd would run away at the very idea of paying $4 for a 30-pack of grasshoppers, but Safeco Field sold over 18,000 of them in 2017. In fact, the bugs were so popular that the stadium had to impose a limit on how many one person could order. 

Called chapulines, the grasshoppers come courtesy of upscale Seattle restaurant Poquitos. The bugs are imported from Mexico (they’re a popular snack in Oaxaca), then fried up with chile-lime seasoning.

Now, the baseball stadium is definitely a place where fun, over-the-top foods are encouraged, from three-pound banana splits to this foot-long hot dog filled with tamales. But most of those foods are just larger-than-life versions of existing ballpark fare, whereas grasshoppers are a distinctly new concession.

The fact that these bugs are back on the menu this year just goes to prove that the edible insect movement is becoming more and more the norm (at least in certain parts of the country). The global insects market is expected to hit $1.2 billion by 2023. And while dwindling food resources and a growing population are the main drivers for that number, it doesn’t hurt that a group as all-American as baseball fans are on board.

In fact, it could help. Just as celebrities may be able to help the average Westerner get over the “ew yuck” factor that comes with eating bugs, if more sports venues start serving insects it could be a tremendous opportunity to reach and educate a whole new set of consumers.

And frankly, if forced to choose between a plate of chile-lime grasshoppers and something like a Cracker Jack and Mac Dog, I’d take the bugs any day of the week. Let’s hope that, in time, many sports fans will feel the same.