There just may be about two billion crickets flooding local grocery store shelves in Canada and America for both human and pet consumption due to a recent Canadian food group finishing the world’s largest “alternative protein” manufacturing facility.
Situated in London, Ontario, Aspire Food Group officially announced on the 26th of May that the new production facility for insects would reportedly create roughly ten tons of crickets a year for distribution for both Canada and U.S., stated Canadian Manufacturing.
“Aspire is pioneering a movement to produce exceptionally high-quality protein with a low environmental footprint,” reads the website for the cricket production company.
The website for Aspire stated that the company is “building autonomous robotics, centralized distribution systems, and custom assemblies to farm our insects from hatch-to-harvest” that companies could build almost anywhere with very low costs.
Built by EllisDon, a construction company based out of Canada, entomophagous humans can begin their cricket-based meal prep as soon as the fall after the facility ramps up to being fully operational.
As reported by Canadian Manufacturing, the facility now showcases a set of four recently developed technologies such as an automated storage retrieval system, a 5g IoT network, a new version of an HVAC system, and an AI solution recognized by a very specialized section within the United Nations.
It was reported by Healthline that crickets contain protein, vitamins, fat, minerals, and fiber sources that could be beneficial to guy health.
Despite the fact that the eating of crickets may seem odd or foreign to many western cultures, a recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has stated that the eating of insects “is heavily influenced by cultural and religious practices, and insects are commonly consumed as a food source in many regions of the world.”
“In most Western countries, however, people view entomophagy with disgust and associate eating insects with primitive behavior,” read a report. “This attitude has resulted in the neglect of insects in agricultural research.”
As stated in a release from last year by Professor Michelle Colgrave from Edith Cowan University School of Science, “more than 2 billion people around the world already eat insects on a daily basis, and they could be a sustainable solution, providing protein that complements traditional animal-based protein sources.”
However, the various health risks from the consumption of insects could be allergic reactions and pathogen contamination.
“This research showed a significant overlap in allergenic proteins found in cricket food products and those found in shellfish like crabs and prawns,” she stated. “That’s because crickets, mealworms, and other insects are closely related to crustaceans.”
“Shellfish allergies affect up to two percent of people globally, but varies according to age and region, and there’s a good chance that people allergic to shellfish will also react to insects.”
As reported by Colgrave, those sporting allergens do not prevent insects from being utilized as a food source. However, it does mean that all insect-based foods will need to be heavily tested and properly labeled in order to ensure that those with allergies are taken care of.