Singapore has taken a bold step and approved 16 species of insects as safe for human consumption.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said organisms that meet the criteria include crickets, caterpillars, moth larvae and a type of honeybee. The agency said it made the decision simply because the insect industry is “in its infancy and insects are a new food in Singapore.”
The announcement comes as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continues to promote eating insects as an environmentally friendly way to get dietary protein for both humans and livestock.
We’ve got all your questions answered as Singapore paves the way for a crooked, leggier and more sustainable dining experience.
What species are designated for human consumption?
Singapore has approved 16 insect species at different life stages. The adult insects are four cricket species, two grasshoppers, one locust and one honeybee species. The larvae are three mealworm species, one whitefly species, one giant beetle larva and two moth species. According to the guidelines, silk moths and silkworms (different life stages of the same species) can both be eaten.
“It’s really surprising how long the list of species is now accepted for human consumption,” says Skye Blackburn, an Australian entomologist and food scientist who advocates for insect eating and sells insect-based products. “It really shows that Singapore is a bit more open to edible insects than we thought.”
How about some sushi with silkworms?
According to the Straits Times, Singapore restaurant chain House of Seafood is already preparing to serve 30 insect-based dishes, including sushi with silkworms and crickets, salted egg crab with superworms, and “minty meatball mayhem,” which features meatballs topped with worms.
Insect products that Singapore authorities have allowed to be imported include insect oils, fresh pasta containing insects as an ingredient, chocolate and other confectioneries containing not more than 20 per cent insects, salted, brined, smoked or dried bee larvae, marinated beetle larvae and silkworm pupae.
Mr Blackburn said one encouraging thing about Singapore’s list was that it included species that are not yet commercially farmed for food, such as the European honeybee and rhinoceros beetle larvae.
A vendor packs dried caterpillars into bags at Gambella market in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Reuters
Where else would they eat insects?
A study published in the journal Scientific Reports this year found that insects are eaten in 128 countries, with 2,205 insect species eaten worldwide, with most of these species found in Asian countries, followed by Mexico and African countries.
Hundreds of insect species are consumed in Thailand, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and China, while Brazil, Japan and Cameroon each eat more than 100 species of insects.
Singaporean chefs will be able to import many creative insect recipes from around the world. Insect dishes will be served fried, skewered, in noodles, margaritas, arancini, canned, confit etc. Insect products will be sold in restaurants, markets, supermarkets and vending machines around the world.
The EU is in the process of approving more insects as what it calls “novel food sources,” but has approved only four so far. Australia has so far approved only three species as “non-novel, non-traditional” food sources: one species of cricket and two species of mealworms.
Deep fried grasshoppers, or belarang goreng, is a traditional dish from Southeast Asia. Photo: Daniela Brelinca/Getty Images/500px
Is it safe to eat bees?
Honeybees are endangered and desperately needed to maintain the planet’s basic life systems, Blackburn said. Most of the bees consumed are stingless drones, which are often removed from hives for pest control.
“The reason we remove drones from hives is because they have Varroa mites,” Blackburn says, “so drones are actually used as a food source because they’re a by-product of the hive.”
Female honeybees are also eaten in some African and Asian countries, but cooking them breaks down, or “denatures,” the venom, she said. Female bees can be ground up or fried and eaten.
Blackburn has tried drones and says they taste like “sweet butter.”
“It was very nice, although it didn’t feel like a beehive. [it had] It’s a really mild and sweet flavor.”
In Cambodia, bee pupae are cooked within the beehive and eaten as a popular street snack, especially as rich waffles or little choux pastry puffs.
A Tokyo bar sells insect-infused cookies. Photo: Toru Hanai/Reuters
Why does the UN want us to eat insects?
These are challenging climatic times and insects are a much more sustainable source of protein than livestock.
Crickets have a high “conversion ratio,” meaning they are efficient at converting plant energy into protein, meaning they can get what they eat into their bodies. According to the FAO, “crickets require one-sixth the amount of feed required by cows, one-quarter the amount required by sheep, and one-half the amount required by pigs or broilers to produce the same amount of protein.”
They can also be raised indoors, using less space, water and producing fewer emissions. They can be kept in relatively small rooms in rural and urban areas, providing an income source for people with limited access to land or who lack the training required to keep livestock.
Are we already eating insects without even knowing it?
The SFA said companies must state on the packaging whether their products contain insects “to indicate the true nature of the product”.
But some of the products set to hit store shelves are pretty low-key. Singaporean company Ultimate Nutrition is selling a protein bar that looks just like any other in its orange-and-yellow packaging, but with crickets in it. “Enjoy a nutty, gourmet classic with a guilt-free twist!” the website says. The insects can also be ground up to make protein-rich pastas, as well as biscuits and a powder for protein shakes.
But if you’ve ever eaten food that’s been dyed red, you may have been consuming carmine, a red dye made from the shells of the shellac beetle. According to the BBC, the dye is “added to everything from yogurt and ice cream to fruit pies, soft drinks, cupcakes and doughnuts.”
Other ingredients include the candy’s shiny shell, which is made from resin secreted by lacquer bugs, and of course honey and bee pollen.
And if you eat animals, chances are they are eating insect protein. The FAO recommends the use of insects such as black soldier flies, house flies, mealworms, silkworms and grasshoppers as a supplementary food source for livestock, poultry and fish. Black soldier flies can reduce fertilizer pollution by up to 70%.
What’s the best way to convince people to eat insects?
Ms Blackburn says she encourages children to ask questions and teaches them about eating insects, and one of her most popular products is corn chips made from crickets, which are now sold in 1000 school canteens across Australia as a healthy snack.
“It’s fun too,” she says. “What kid doesn’t want to eat cricket chips?”
