Edible Insects in Africa in Terms of Food, Wildlife Resource, and Pest Management Legislation.

Nils Th Grabowski,Waheed A A Sayed,Fatma Acheuk,Séverin Tchibozo,Madeleine Plötz,Amir Abdulmawjood,Meriem M'Saad Guerfali

doi:10.3390/foods9040502

Abstract

Entomophagy is an ancient and actually African tradition that has been receiving renewed attention since edible insects have been identified as one of the solutions to improve global nutrition. As any other foodstuff, insects should be regulated by the government to ensure product quality and consumer safety. The goal of the present paper was to assess the current legal status of edible insects in Africa. For that, corresponding authorities were contacted along with an extensive online search, relying mostly on the FAOLEX database. Except for Botswana, insects are not mentioned in national regulations, although the definitions for “foodstuff” allow their inclusion, i.e., general food law can also apply to insects. Contacted authorities tolerated entomophagy, even though no legal base existed. However, insects typically appear in laws pertaining the use of natural resources, making a permit necessary (in most cases). Pest management regulation can also refer to edible species, e.g., locusts or weevils. Farming is an option that should be assessed carefully. All this creates a complex, nation-specific situation regarding which insect may be used legally to what purpose. Recommendations for elements in future insect-related regulations from the food hygiene point of view are provided.

Highlights

IntroductionThe FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) recognized the potential of edible insects as one possibility to mitigate hunger and the effects of the climate change, and as a response to that, the discussion of establishing insect farms in traditionally entomophagous countries rather than increasing the extraction from the wild started [1]
A new policy for food safety [14] does mention edible insects postulating that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry should be responsible to elaborate standards for a series of foodstuffs including insects. This policy was submitted to the cabinet by the Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry, but has not been amended yet. These results show that edible insects are tolerated in many countries, and there is no regulation for them at the moment, some governments are interested in developing them
Edible crickets are reared in Kenya and Uganda. This implies that at least in those two countries, the setup of these farms was legal. In this way, asking for food quality standards for edible insects may be challenging if some countries have not addressed food quality standards for meat, fish, or dairy products so far

Summary

Introduction

The FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) recognized the potential of edible insects as one possibility to mitigate hunger and the effects of the climate change, and as a response to that, the discussion of establishing insect farms in traditionally entomophagous countries rather than increasing the extraction from the wild started [1]. Food habits changed over the millennia, and while consuming insects was largely lost in Europe. Foods 2020, 9, 502 after the classical antiquity, the tradition lingered on in Africa. There are hundreds of insect species consumed in Africa as foodstuffs or as traditional medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The awareness of the benefits of edible insects has reached non-traditional sectors of the African population, and web-based information sites like LINCAOCNET (http://gbif.africamuseum.be/lincaocnet_dev/) provide searchable information on local species

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