Social networks were abuzz with reactions after reports that the European Food Safety Agency allowed it to be enriched with high-protein meal from mealybugs and domestic crickets, but the dominant attitude of European consumers prevails that they do not want to consume insects - in any form. And, considering the fact that the Macedonian institutions have not yet been asked to approve such a product, that food will not be eaten on Macedonian tables in the foreseeable future.

From now on it will be possible to legally eat crickets and larvae in the EU

The Food and Veterinary Agency has prescribed a national procedure for approving such products that fall under the category of food produced with innovative technologies, and so far no request has been submitted to them for approving a product containing larvae or other forms of insects, they confirm for "Sloboden Pechat" from AHV. Two years ago, a similar discussion developed, after EFSA published a positive opinion on the use of dry yellow larvae of the insect Tenebrio molitor, as an authorized food produced with innovative technologies. And then, as now, according to foreign media, their use in several variants, as an additive to dishes or as flour, was considered.

The FVA points out that food and food ingredients produced with innovative technologies or so-called "New food" is any food or ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption before 1997, when the first regulation was adopted in the EU which prescribes special requirements for the safety of this food.

Since yesterday, Europe also eats flour from domestic crickets

Otherwise, as EFSA announced, the powder, that is, the flour from the "house cricket" can officially be sold on the European market, and the list of products in which it is allowed to be found is practically endless. In limited quantities, it can be used for the production of: bread, pastries, biscuits, cereals, frozen pizzas and other pasta. It is also allowed in spices, beer, instant soups, meat substitutes, sauces, processed potatoes, leguminous and vegetable dishes, confectionary products... The introduction of high-protein insect-based flour into the diet of Europeans has been talked about for a long time. Based on the opinion of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), house cricket powder (Aheta domesticus) is safe, and it was included in the so-called novel food at the beginning of January this year. So the Vietnamese company "CricketUan Co" got the green light to sell it on the EU market for the next five years. Fried crickets are said to taste like nuts, mainly hazelnuts, but also sunflower seeds. Experts claim that they are rich in iron, amino acids and contain more than 60 grams of protein per hundred grams.

Early for mass use of insect meal

Experts in Lithuania believe that the fears of the citizens are unfounded, because the production of this flour is still expensive and the question is how much it will actually be in mass use. Lithuania's National Food and Veterinary Service told media that crickets and other insects are treated as novel food in the EU, which is subject to stricter requirements and has clear limits on how much powder can be added to another product.

- In some people, insect proteins can cause allergic reactions - experts note.

A Brussels official said earlier that the Food and Agriculture Organization lists insects as a nutritious and healthy food source with high levels of fat, protein, vitamins, fiber and minerals. They already make up a significant part of the daily diet of hundreds of millions of people around the world, they note, so they could be an alternative protein source that would facilitate the transition to a more sustainable food system in Europe.

Anything that goes can be eaten

Aleksandar Gavrilović, owner of an insectarium in the show "Newsnight" on H1, said that they had a license to sell only live insects, but now things are changing and they are waiting for a change in the law, and they will also have a brewery.

"At the moment we don't have a name for the beer. I also brought flour, which is 100 percent ground cricket. It tastes like chocolate and we got that from Millard's reaction. "But if you feed them hazelnuts, you'll get a hazelnut flavor, if you feed them bananas, you'll get a banana flavor, but if you're making desserts, you shouldn't overdo it because you'll get a meaty flavor," he revealed.

People avoid eating insects, so it's good to start with flour, Gavrilovic added. According to him, anything that walks can be eaten, including cockroaches.

"Our people are still not used to eating anything that has six legs, they are still loyal to four-legged animals," he added.