Health Highlights: May 5, 2021

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EU OKs Mealworms as Food

Could worms be the food of the future?

European Union (EU) members have given the go-ahead for dried yellow mealworms to be marketed as a “novel food.”

The decision Tuesday follows the release earlier this year of a scientific opinion from the EU’s food safety agency saying Tenebrio molitor beetle’s larvae are safe to eat, the Associated Press reported.

A regulation authorizing the mealworms as food is expected to be adopted in coming weeks, meaning they could soon be available in grocery stores and restaurants in the 27 EU nations.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization calls insects “a healthy and highly nutritious food source with a high content of fat, protein, vitamins, fibers and minerals,” the AP reported.

The worms can be eaten whole or in powdered form as a protein-rich snack or an ingredient in other foods, according to researchers, the AP reported.

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