The European Union recently approved the use of the Acheta Domesticus, more commonly known as the house cricket, in European consumers’ food. The newly approved regulation will allow food producers to introduce the partially defatted dry powder of the house cricket into the EU food market.
The house cricket powder can be used in the production of several foods, including pizza and pasta-based products; nuts and oil seeds; snacks and sauces; meat preparations and soups; multigrain bread and rolls; crackers and breadsticks; cereal bars; dry pre-mixes for baked products; biscuits; processed potato products; legume- and vegetable-based dishes; whey powder; maize flour-based snacks; beer-like beverages; and chocolate confectionery goods.
Food containing house cricket or lesser mealworm products will require appropriate labels since some researchers believe that these insects could cause allergic reactions in consumers allergic to crustaceans, dust mites and mollusks.