| The rapid increase of world population, together with climate change, makes necessary to find new sustainable and healthy foods. Among this products, Tenebrio molitor shows beneficial characteristics, being the high quantity of protein the most noticeable, but without forgetting its sustainability, human health support and EU safety approval. |
The world population is growing at an accelerated rate; from 8.000 million this year to the total estimated of 9.700 million in 2050. That means food production needs to increase to supply this huge demand, but without increasing its carbon footprint (increased greenhouse gas emissions and the use of excessive amounts of natural resources). The way of overcoming these challenges is to create more sustainable food supply chains.
This is possible by reducing emissions and promoting the shift from linear to circular production models, in addition to identifying and fostering the development of new innovative food products. This latter, regulated by Novel Food Regulation 2015/2283.
WHAT IS NOVEL FOOD?
Novel Food is defined as food that has not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 1997. Novel Food can be newly developed, innovative food, food produced using new technologies and production processes, as well as food which is or has been traditionally eaten outside of the EU. Examples are algae, fungi, cultivated meat, insects, etc.
Each novel food must be included by the European Commission (EC) in a Union list, authorizing its commercialization as such, or introduced in food, under the conditions according to which the novel food does not pose a safety risk to human health and does not mislead the consumer.
That way, pre-market authorization of Novel Foods must comply with these conditions, providing:
- description of the novel food and the production process.
- detailed composition of the novel food.
- scientific evidence demonstrating that the novel food does not pose a safety risk to human health, and the analysis method.
- a proposal for the conditions of intended use and for specific labelling requirements.
TENEBRIO MOLITOR NOVEL FOOD HISTORY
Among these novel foods are products from insects, and the Tenebrio molitor is one of the few proved to be safe and nutritionally balanced for human consumption. In January of 2025, a new Tenebrio molitor application was approved in the EU Novel Food list under Regulation 2017/2470: whole Tenebrio molitor larvae powder treated with ultraviolet radiation, as such, or included in specific EU authorized food.
With this treatment, they guarantee disinfection, ensuring a pathogen-free product, and the enrichment with vitamin D3, providing an additional nutritional benefit. This vitamin D helps to maintain strong bones and muscles, and also plays a role in the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems.
This has been the latest form of which Tenebrio molitor can be put in the market, but in the last years, various formats or processes have been authorized for this insect, meaning safety of these products have been largely proved. They are:
• Dehydrated Tenebrio larvae in 2021.
• Frozen, dried, and powdered Tenebrio larvae in 2022.
As the years gap since the last Tenebrio molitor authorization shows, the approval of any Novel Food product is a complex process, in which the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will assess that there is no safety risk for consumer based on a stringent scientific assessment and lastly, is up to consumers to decide whether they want to eat insects or not, being conscious that the introduction of new ingredients in a product is always going to appear in the label.
TENEBRIO MOLITOR PROTEIN: SUSTAINABLE INGREDIENT FOR NUTRITIVE FOOD
Tenebrio molitor is a valuable source of protein (60%) as well as healthy fats (16%, mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids), micronutrients and fiber. Consuming protein in the diet is essential for proper human development because:
- It participates in tissue growth, repair, and maintenance.
- It is part of the hormonal, immune, and metabolic systems.
- It acts as an energy source, helps transport and store substances such as oxygen and iron, and provides structure to tissues.
- It provides essential amino acids that humans and animals cannot produce, necessary to prevent malnutrition, impaired growth, and weakened immunity.
In addition to protein, its excellent nutritional composition, in any of its commercial forms and/or incorporated as an ingredient in manufactured products, it provides a series of benefits and advantages:
- It can be used in diets aimed at weight loss and muscle mass development due to its high energy content with a low fat and high protein content.
- They help meet the daily recommended intake of minerals and vitamins, as they are rich in zinc, magnesium, riboflavin, folic acid, and vitamin B12.
- They are gluten-free. They do not contain gluten protein, so they can be consumed by people with celiac disease.
CONCLUSION
The scarcity and the dependency of out-of-EU protein makes finding new sustainable nutritious healthy ingredients essential. In this context, UE approves Novel Foods under strict conditions that ensure there is no risk for human health and the products are correctly labelled, one of these being the sustainable and protein-rich Tenebrio molitor.
