SFA approves 16 insect species for food; companies gear up to offer new dishes and products

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The insects include various species of crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, mealworms and silkworms.

House of Seafood's sushi topped with juicy silkworms and crispy crickets and their salted egg crab dish with superworms.The Singapore Food Agency said on July 8 that it has approved some 16 species of insects for consumption, much to the delight of industry players who have been gearing up for this long-awaited moment.House of Seafood restaurant’s chief executive Francis Ng is cooking up a menu of 30 insect-infused dishes.

Selling under the brand name InsectYumz, several types of insect snacks will be available for a start, for instance original and tom yum-flavoured crickets and mealworms. There will also be cricket powder, which is a protein powder. While the shop has since closed, he hopes to be able to provide these snacks to those who might enjoy them, particularly young people, Mr Yip said.

During the period while it was awaiting SFA’s regulatory approval, the company conducted workshops and educational sessions at almost a hundred schools, reaching out to students of all ages, from pre-schools to institutes of higher learning, said its co-founder, Mr Hiew Yuen Sheng. Altimate Nutrition is hoping to launch its cricket protein bars at eco-friendly store Green Collective, as soon as possible, to be the “first movers”, Mr Hiew said.

“While there are many cricket farms in the Thai market, the challenge lies in determining who can produce the largest volume of crickets and in the most cost-effective way,” she said. While these insects are grown in a similar way – be it for humans or for pets – greater biosecurity measures will be needed if they are to be sold for human consumption. A new farm will also have to be set up to prevent cross-contamination, for example, and a new licence will be needed as well.

 

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