Jiminy! Loblaw serves up crickets
By Canadian Packaging staff
General Sustainability Loblaw Companies Limited President’s ChoiceNew powdered cricket is an easy way to add protein to your breakfast smoothie.
No one is suggesting that eating bugs is new to human culture.
Sure, there was that creepy kid everyone knew back in Grade 1 who would eat anything creepy-crawly on a dare, but maybe he was on to something—humans have been dining out on insects for millennia.
In fact, even nowadays, it is estimated that 80 percent of the human population already eats bugs: ants, termites, bee larvae, grasshopper, stinkbugs, beetles, and much more.
Despite the name, stinkbugs have an apple flavor, ants taste nutty, tree worms taste like pork… rinds?
According to a study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2013, there are more than 1,900 types of insects that a human being can eat, with many hundreds of insects already on the menu.
It’s just not a North American phenomenon… or is it?
Canadian Packaging editor Andrew Joseph says he has dined on hachino-ko (bee larvae) and inago (grasshopper) while living in Japan, and found both extremely tasty. He’s also eaten chocolate covered ants – yum – and slurped on scorpions in a lollipop (he couldn’t taste the scorpion – that’s bad, right?)… the later two here in Canada.
Now retail giant Loblaw is offering crickets for sale. No, not the live version one can purchase a pet shops for their lizards, but rather a 113g stand-up pouch of 100% Cricket Powder, a milled version that the Loblaw private label President’s Choice proudly states is rich in protein and an excellent source of Vitamin B12—oh, and it’s farmed in Canada.
Hey Batter, Natter, Batter
This milled, finely ground cricket powder has a mild taste, so one doesn’t need to worry about an “ick” factor, and suggests that the powder can be added to breakfast smoothies, sauces, chili, curries and even baking batters.
So Loblaw wants you to think that bugs are a trendy food—and good for them, but what sort of healthy aspects can one derive from using the 100% Cricket Powder as a meal additive?
Apparently just 2-1/2 tablespoons of 100% Cricket Powder contains 13 grams of protein and the full day’s recommended daily allotment of Vitamin B12. And, for the calorie conscious, it’s only 90 calories.
Click HERE for pricing details.
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