Published 08:55 IST, October 24th 2019
Eating insects might be yucky, but can be nutritious food alternative
Many parts of the world consume insects as food. Loaded with several nutritional values, they are sometimes more nutritious than meat. Read to know more.
To cater to the increasing need for food of flourishing global population, several studies have reviewed insects as potential human food. Earlier, many reviews have dealt with insects in a group, which made it difficult to evaluate each insect species as food due to the generalized data. According to a study by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, mealworms have higher or similar nutritional values compared to several other food sources. For instance, the protein content in mealworm larvae is about 50% of dry weight, while the fat content is approximately 30%.
According to studies, mealworms can be cooked or prepared by various methods like oven broiling, roasting, pan-frying, boiling, deep-frying, and microwaving. But it has not been studied how the texture, taste, and flavour of a mealworm change on being stored for commercial use. Factors that control the shelf life of these insects including storage, as well as packaging, have to be identified according to the feasibility of using mealworms as a commercial source.
Also read: From Snake Meat To Duck Fetus: These Weird Food Items Around The World Will Leave You Baffled
Consumption across the world
According to a report published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in 2013, about 2 billion people consume insects as a part of their traditional diet across the world. This practice is called entomophagy. Entomophagy is practised in different countries such as China, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Asia, and parts of Central and South America.
Sensory aspects
Amongst commonly used insects, caterpillars, wasps, ants, bees, grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts, beetles are the most popular. According to the research, more than 1,900 species of insects are considered to be edible. But in western culture, insects fail to satisfy the taste buds of people. As per a study published by the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed in 2012, around 72% of Americans are not willing to consume insects or even consider them as food. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), most of the western population finds entomophagy quite disgusting and associate this practice of eating bugs as food as primitive behaviour.
Various Health Benefits
According to a research by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) of National Institutes of Health (NIH), it has been proven that insects have high nutritional value, especially high proteins in terms of amino acids composition. Moreover, studies have revealed that bugs have a high concentration of lipids. Some also have a high content of unsaturated fatty acids. Talking about vitamins, retinol levels are low in insects, but they are rich in riboflavin, pantothenic acid and biotin. In some cases, folic acid has also been found in high percentage.
FAO claims that insects are at par or sometimes better when it comes to nutritious content as compared to meats including beef. Loaded with several nutritional values, eating insects can help people dealing with obesity. They have also been considered a great source of essential nutrients, a cheap source of food. And since it is easily accessible, it is being said that insect consumption can help fight malnutrition.
Updated 15:16 IST, October 24th 2019