Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Commission Daily News, 12 November 2021
Today, the Commission has authorised the placing on the market of a second insect, Locusta migratoria (migratory locust), as a novel food. It will be available in the form of frozen, dried and powder and is intended to be marketed as a snack or a food ingredient, in a number of food products.
This authorisation comes after a stringent scientific assessment by EFSA which concluded that migratory locust is safe under the uses submitted by the applicant company. Products containing this novel food will be labelled to inform about potential allergic reactions. This authorisation by the Commission follows a positive vote, last September, from the Member States to which the application was submitted.
The first authorisation of an insect as novel food, for dried yellow mealworms, was adopted last July. In various studies, the Food Agriculture Organisation has identified insects as a highly nutritious and healthy food source with high fat, protein, vitamin, fibre and mineral content. Insects, which are consumed daily by millions of people on the planet, were identified under the Farm to Fork Strategy as an alternative protein source that could facilitate the shift towards a more sustainable food system.
To see the Regulation, go to: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1975 of 12 November 2021 authorising the placing on the market of frozen, dried and powder forms of Locusta migratoria as a novel food under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 (OJ L402, 15.11.2021, page 10)
