EFSA opens door for yellow mealworm powder as novel food
The EU has moved a step closer to allowing UV-treated yellow mealworm powder to be sold as a human-grade food. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has just issued a positive opinion on the safety and nutritional value of Tenebrio molitor after French company Nutri’Earth submitted a novel food application back in 2019.
Yellow mealworm powder is obtained by drying and grinding whole larvae of the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), a type of beetle. The powder is then treated with ultraviolet (UV) light to reduce microbial contamination.
«Standard mealworms flour does not contain vitamin D3. UV exposure enables vitamin D3 to be synthesized in mealworm flour. Vitamin D3 is deficient in many people around the world,» explains Thomas Dormigny, co-founder of Nutri’Earth.
«UV-exposed mealworms flour contains the same nutrients as unexposed standard flour (proteins, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins etc.) with the exception of vitamin D3, which completes the nutritional profile. Vitamin D3 is a vitamin that interacts with many of the nutrients already present in the flour (calcium, fatty acids, zinc etc.),» he continues.
According to EFSA, the consumption of yellow mealworm powder does not pose any health risks to humans, as long as the product meets the quality standards and labeling requirements set by the EU legislation on novel food