Current consumption patterns and studies of consumer acceptance indicate that the complete substitution of conventional animal-based foods with insects in the short to medium term is unlikely.[1]

The potential to be incorporated into compound foods as a substitute for a conventional animal-based ingredient is greater due to their high protein quantity and quality. Among all insect food applications, their use as ingredients in sports foods (e.g., protein bars), food supplements and other functional foods is expected to experience the highest growth by 2030.[2]

However, insect protein digestibility by the human body may be negatively affected by the presence of chitin, a carbohydrate polymer contained in insect exoskeletons. Although chitin has recognised beneficial health properties (e.g. antioxidant, antimicrobial) in addition to being an important source of fibre, it might need to be removed during processing to guarantee the preservation of insect protein quality.[3]

In addition, certain insect protein components (i.e., tropomyosin and arginine) may pose a food safety risk as they may trigger allergenic reactions in consumers sensitive to crustaceans and derived products, and dust mites.[4] For this reason, in the EU, food containing mealworms must display specific allergen warnings on the labelling. [5]  

The edible insect market is still at an early stage of development, and consumer prices for insect-based foods on the EU market are, on average, relatively high, making them a premium food category. In the long run, higher consumer demand combined with the scaling up of their production and the lowering of production costs may contribute towards reducing their market price.  

Regarding insects for animal nutrition, their protein quality makes them a suitable partial replacement for soybean in livestock feed.