Fazer’s Helsinki store claims to be the world’s first to offer insect bread, which contains around 70 powdered crickets.
A Finnish bakery has launched the world’s first bread made from insects and is making it available to shoppers.
Made from flour ground from dried crickets, as well as wheat flour and seeds, the bread has a higher protein content than regular wheat bread. There are around 70 crickets in a loaf and they cost €3.99 (£3.55) compared to €2-3 for regular wheat bread.
“It provides consumers with a good source of protein and also makes it easy for them to become familiar with insect food products,” said Juhani Sibakov, head of innovation at Fazer Bakery.
The need to find more food sources and the desire to treat animals more humanely have led to interest in using insects as a protein source in Western countries.
In November, Finland joined five other European countries – Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Denmark – in allowing the farming and sale of insects for food.
Sibakov said Fasel developed the bread last summer and was waiting for Finnish legislation to be passed before launching it.
Sara Koivisto, a student from Helsinki, said after trying the product: “I couldn’t taste the difference… it tasted like bread.”
Due to limited supply of crickets, the bread will initially be sold in 11 Fazer bakeries in Helsinki hypermarkets, but the company plans to launch it in all 47 of its stores next year.
The company sources its cricket flour from the Netherlands but says it is looking for local suppliers. Fazer, a family-owned company with sales of about 1.6 billion euros last year, has not disclosed its sales target for the product.
Eating insects is common in many parts of the world. The United Nations estimated last year that at least 2 billion people eat insects, with more than 1,900 species of insects used as food.
Edible insects are becoming increasingly popular among niche markets in Western countries, particularly those seeking a gluten-free diet or wanting to protect the environment, as insect farming uses less land, water and feed than other livestock industries.
Post time: Dec-24-2024