Protein-rich mealworms make up the bulk of the "insect balls" due to go on sale at Switzerland's Coop supermarket (AFP Photo/Dieter Nagl) |
Geneva
(AFP) - Switzerland's first insect-based food aimed at humans will go on sale
next week following a revision of the country's food safety laws, a supermarket
chain said Monday.
Switzerland's
second-largest supermarket chain, Coop, announced it would begin selling an
insect burger, and insect balls, based on protein-rich mealworm.
The
products, made by a Swiss start-up called Essento, will be available in a
handful of Coop branches, including in Geneva, Bern and Zurich, as of August
21, according to a statement.
Switzerland
is the first European country to authorise the sale of insect-based food items
for human consumption, a spokeswoman for the country's food safety authority
told AFP.
Swiss food
safety laws were changed last May to allow for the sale of food items
containing three types of insects: crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms, which
are the larval form of the mealworm beetle.
These
insects, long used in animal feed, must be bred under strict supervision for
four generations before they are considered appropriate for human consumption,
according to Swiss law.
Local production
will thus take a few months to get started.
In the
meantime, imports are possible under strict conditions -- the insects must be
raised in accordance with the Swiss requirements at a company submitted to
inspections by national food safety authorities.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment