Insects as food: EU classifies locusts as a snack

There are environmental benefits to cultivating insects for human consumption

A community volunteer uses a motorised spray to disperse pesticide, in February last year, at a hatch site near Isiolo town in Isiolo county, eastern Kenya, where locust nymphs hatched en masse. Picture: Tony Karumba / AFP

The migratory locust has got the official stamp to be marketed as a snack or as a food ingredient in the EU.

It follows stringent scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to verify that the food does not pose a safety risk to human health.