// Selfridges to sell pasta, protein & granola bars made from insect flour
// Dark chocolate and fig protein bars will made with cricket flour
// French brand – Jimini’s – helped develop the products exclusively for Selfridges
// Sainsbury’s became UK’s first major grocer to stock edible crickets in November
Selfridges has announced it will sell pasta, protein bars and granola bars made from insect flour in a bid to highlight alternative proteins for inclusion in mainstream diets.
Dark chocolate and fig protein bars made with cricket flour, basil fusilli pasta and raspberry and pumpkin seed granola – made from flour from ground buffalo worms – will be available to buy in Selfridges’ food halls this week.
As the awareness of the environmental impact of livestock farming increases and less people consume meat, more department stores as well as grocers aim to tap into the rising recognition of the benefits of eating insects on both nutritional and environmental grounds.
Jimini’s, a French brand, helped develop the products exclusively to Selfridges.
Environmental experts have long recommended insects as nutritious and containing essential proteins, fats, minerals and amino acids.
A regular portion of buckwheat pasta usually contains about 10 grams of protein, whereas Jimini’s insect fusilli contains 18 grams.
Jimini’s cereal bars contain 20 per cent protein and granola 14 per cent – both products are blended with a selection of fruit and nuts for variety of texture.
“We are sure our epicurious customers will be surprised and delighted discovering the new range in store,” Selfridges food buying director Edward Goodman said.
It comes after Sainsbury’s became the UK’s first major grocer to stock edible crickets back in November, when it sold roasted insects as snacks in small bags from the UK brand Eat Grub in 250 stores.
The global edible insect market is predicted to exceed $520 million (£395 million) by 2023, according to recent research.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said at least two billion people regularly consume insects.
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