A GROUNDBREAKING bread made of grasshoppers, mealworms and fungus could fight a looming global food crisis, boffins claim.
The breakthrough “insect flour” project was led by Dr Celeste Ibarra-Herrera with a team of researchers focused on feeding the future.
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Scientists created the special flour using Sphenarium purpurascens – a grasshopper species found in Mexico and Guatemala.
They also used Tenebrio Molitor, otherwise known as mealworms, to create the incredible base for the bread.
As well as bugs, the state-of-the-art insect flour included edible fungus.
This was added to improve the texture and flavour of the extraordinary loaf, while also adding nutritional value, scientists said.
The bread also provides high-quality protein, essential fatty acids, iron, zinc, dietary fibre and bioactive compounds, they added.
It required less water, land and feed consumption to produce as opposed to the average loaf of bread.
The world’s population is projected to exceed 9.7 billion by 2050, according to Tecnológico de Monterrey, a higher educational institution in Monterrey, Mexico.
And the demand for food is estimated to grow by 60 per cent by that same year.
Due to these pressures on food systems, Dr Ibarra-Herrera decided to come up with an efficient and sustainable alternative.
She selected insects that had high nutritional content and low environmental impact.
Dr Ibarra-Herrera said: “Producing 1kg of beef requires approximately 8kg of feed.
“Insects achieve the same production with only 2kg, freeing up valuable resources like land and water.”
She added: “This innovation represents a concrete opportunity for people to improve their daily diet in a simple and accessible way.
“We are working so that with the consumption of this bread, people have a source of high-quality protein compared to traditional bread.”
The boffin explained what her objective was when making the cutting edge loaf.
She said she aimed to “creatively face the approaching protein deficit, offering sustainable foods that nourish better and are also pleasant for consumers”.
Dr Ibarra-Herrera explained: “This bread represents a bold step towards transforming the perception of edible insects, integrating them into our diet in a familiar and appetising way.”
Insects being eaten by humans is a deep-rooted cultural practice in various regions of the world.
In Mexico, where this research was carried out, grasshoppers, maguey worms, jumiles, and escamoles are traditionally consumed.
The country is home to about 500 of more than 1,600 species of edible insects reported worldwide.
Dr Ibarra-Herrera also said that the integration of insect-based foods into our diet “requires time and education”.
But she explained that she was “confident in achieving their normalisation”.
Dr Ibarra-Herrera collaborated with Food and Nutrition Security to design the bread as part of the Health Research Initiative at the School of Engineering and Sciences in Mexico.
In 2019, reports said Brits may have to chow down on edible bugs to avoid a food shortage.
A shocking study suggested insect-infused meals would be a great way to avoid a devastating food crisis.
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