This is a joint press release issued by Wageningen UR and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality
Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) is set to receive 1 million euros in research funding from Minister Gerda Verburg of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality to carry out research into the use of insects in the food chain.
The research entitled ‘Sustainable production of insects as food’ will last four years and comprise three research elements. The first element involves finding out which residual flows from the food industry can be used as feed for the various types of insect, whereby the relationship between the quality of the residue and the quality of the insect protein is paramount. The next element involves exploring the best way of processing the proteins so that they can be incorporated into food articles. Aspects such as energy use, efficiency and how residual flows develop and can best be dealt with will also be looked into.
Finally, the research will examine the functional properties of insect proteins, such as amino acid composition, food safety and allergenicity.
Insects on the menu
Insects provide as much nutritional value as ordinary meat. They form a sustainable source of protein because they are cold-blooded and do not need to maintain their body temperature. This efficient lifestyle means that insects put little strain on the environment. There are some 1,400 species of insects that are edible to man. A staggering 98 countries already serve insects as a matter of course. 80% of the world’s population regularly eats a portion of insects. They are eaten on a particularly large scale in the tropics, where menus include caterpillars, grass-hoppers and beetle larvae (mealworms), as well as bees and wasps, termites, ants and flies. Europe and North America are the only parts of the world that do not share this taste for insects, as western consumers are not yet used to eating them.
Accessible knowledge
The research will not focus on product development, but on making the knowledge gleaned accessible to the business sector so that it can set to work. For the purposes of the project, Wageningen UR will be working closely with Venik United Dutch Insect Breeders, a branch organization that represents the interests of insect breeders.
The collaboration with Venik is set to form the basis of a new sector that is headed for innovative and socially responsible growth.
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality policy
Minister Verburg is stimulating renewability in the food supply via the Policy Document on Sustainable Food and the Policy Agenda Sustainable Food Systems, which were both published last year. The Minister hopes that the Policy Document on Sustainable Food will increase the supply of sustainable food by securing collaboration with producers, the industry and the retail sector. The Policy Agenda Sustainable Food Systems revolves around improving the range of regular meat substitutes and product innovation on the basis of algae and insects, for example.