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Looking at edible insects from a food safety perspective

Challenges and opportunities for the sector










​FAO. 2021. Looking at edible insects from a food safety perspective. Challenges and opportunities for the sector. Rome




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    Book (series)
    Edible insects
    Future prospects for food and feed security
    2013
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    This book assesses the potential of insects as food and feed and gathers existing information and research on edible insects. The assessment is based on the most recent and complete data available from various sources and experts around the world. Insects as food and feed emerge as an especially relevant issue in the twenty-first century due to the rising cost of animal protein, food and feed insecurity, environmental pressures, population growth and increasing demand for protein among the middl e classes. Thus, alternative solutions to conventional livestock and feed sources urgently need to be found. The consumption of insects, or entomophagy , therefore contributes positively to the environment and to health and livelihoods. This publication grew from a small effort in 2003 in the FAO Forestry Department to document the role of insects in traditional livelihood practices in Central Africa and to assess the impact of harvesting insects in their natural habitats on the sustainability o f forests. This effort has since unfolded into a broad-based effort to examine the multiple dimensions of insect gathering and rearing to clarify the potential that insects offer for improving food security worldwide. The purpose of this book is to bring together for the first time the many opportunities for, and constraints on, using insects as food and feed
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    Document
    Six-legged livestock: Edible insect farming, collection and marketing in Thailand 2013
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    The world's population is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050. FAO estimates that global food production will need to expand by an estimated 60 percent from current levels. Meeting this massive additional demand will require concerted action on a number of fronts, including efforts to increase the production and consumption of currently under-utilized and under-appreciated foods. Edible insects compromise one such category. Insects offer several advantages as human food. They are extremely ric h in proteins, vitamins and minerals, and at the same time are highly efficient in converting the food they eat into material that can be consumed by humans. This publication provides insight into the collection and farming, processing, marketing and trade of edible insects in Thailand - one of the few countries in the world to have developed a viable and thriving insect farming sector.
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    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    The Contribution of Insects to Food Security, Livelihoods and the Environment 2013
    Entomophagy is the consumption of insects by humans. Entomophagy is practised in many countries around the world but predominantly in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Insects supplement the diets of approximately 2 billion people and have always been a part of human diets. However, it is only recently that entomophagy has captured the attention of the media, research institutions, chefs and other members of the food industry, legislators and agencies dealing with food and feed. The Edibl e Insects Programme at FAO also examines the potential of arachnids (e.g. spiders and scorpions) for food and feed, although by definition these are not insects.

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