It’s not just crickets, it’s a healthy alternative
BARBECUED bugs are on the shelves of a West supermarket today as edible insects go on sale for the first time in the UK.
The day after I’m A Celebrity.... Get Me Out of Here hit our TV screens, supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is selling BBQ Crunchy Roasted Crickets. And a Gloucestershire branch will be one of the 250 stores nationwide that will be trying out the insect snack for the first time.
Any jungle copycats looking for a Bushtucker trial should head to the Sainsbury’s Local in Cheltenham High Street and test their appetite for crickets.
The Eat Grub bugs - acheta domesticus, or house crickets - are farmed in Europe and come in packets of about 50, at £1.50 per bag.
The crunchy insects can be eaten alone as a snack or to garnish dishes such as noodles and salads and its manufacturer says it is “more sustainable than pork scratchings ... and more exciting than a crisp”.
Reviewers are divided over the taste of Eat Grub’s Smoky BBQ Crunchy Roasted Crickets which are said to be “crunchy in texture with a rich smoky flavour”.
Some have enjoyed them but one reviewer struggled to get over the the fact that they were eating creepy crawlies, particularly as they were so easily identified.
She wrote that the Sainsbury’s crickets tasted like the flavouring but added: “For me the sticking point is the texture. Crisp on the outside, it quickly yields before popping in your mouth.”
But Sainsbury’s say it is not a joke because insects are a sustainable source of protein that need few resources to breed.
Rachel Eyre, Head of Future Brands at Sainsbury’s, said: “Insect snacks should no longer be seen as a gimmick or something for a dare.
“It’s clear that consumers are increasingly keen to explore this new sustainable protein source.
“We’re always looking to provide our customers with new and exciting products, and with the growing interest in edible insects we’re excited to be the first UK supermarket to make these products easily accessible for shoppers across the country.”
Eat Grub, a start-up founded in 2014 by friends Shami Radia and Neil Whippey, will be the first edible insect company to have its products featured on a major supermarket’s shelf.
They say insects are better for the environment than meat because they do not need large amounts of land, water or feed to breed in significant numbers.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says at least two billion people regularly consume insects, and they could be used to solve the world’s food problems.
Insects are naturally very low in calories and contain more protein than beef, chicken and pork.