Is Acheta domesticus' risk profile good or bad to edible insects sector? What is EFSA advising?
This summer EFSA published its first risk profile on a single edible insect specie, and audience is divided on what it means to the future of edible insects as food and feed. My personal opinion is that EFSA's opinion on Acheta domesticus risk profile is good, I would even say they are great news for edible insects sector.
They leave an opened door to edible insects manufacturers (and researchers) to show how they are able to produce safe food and feed based on edible insects, A. domesticus in this particular case. (And this is now part of my job from whom I don't want to make spoiler, yet.)
If you don't know what is EFSA's job, I invite you to visit their website to find out the huge and difficult work they develop to keep food safe in the European Union. Generally, EFSA risk profiles have two main characteristics:
- They're conservative and a clear reflection of what caution principle means to European law involving human health. It means that there must be a true and consistent scientific evidence that some aspect regarding food is safe or not to make EFSA's opinion go against those criteria which would be already established and considered safe to the date. Caution principle means that if there's any kind of evidence which could reflect something is harmful to human health, EFSA's members would automatically stop or ban that product, ingredient, additive or substance.
- The second consideration that has to be made about EFSA's opinions is that they are always conditioned to further scientific evidence. This means EFSA considers every scientific data source available, at the moment of releasing their risk profile. Opinions are not an inviolable truth, they are changing as research is, and they are always open to what science is bringing in the future.
You can read the whole risk profile here https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.e16082
EFSA considers on its opinion that the higher risks involving A. domesticus are microbial survival (individuals and spores) and allergenic nature of insects protein.
Yes, it is a really short and (for sure) simple abstract, and yes, there are a lot of other considerations made by EFSA which cannot be ignored, but to me, there is nothing different in this assessment than in any other kind of fresh food, what means "COOK IT BEFORE CONSUMPTION".
Entopreneur, Founder presso Alia Insect Farm, TEDx speaker
6 年Thanks Irene very interesting comment. Which is your opinion on allergy? Have insect proteins allergenic issues? Thanks a lot, carlotta
Quality and Food Safety Manager
6 年Federico Hidalgo León ahí está mi respuesta. ;)