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Things are changing in the world of flour, with companies now using insects like crickets to make flour. Insect Gourmet says insect-related businesses are producing insect proteins for foods, beverages, confectioneries, butters, oils, pestos, spices, and seasonings. The market is expected to reach $4.6 billion in sales by 2027, producing 1.4 million tons of insect protein.
ADM is reportedly producing insect foods in Decatur, Illinois, with Innova Foods. EXO claims crickets are 60% protein, but Iowa State University says they are only about 12.9%. The Cleveland Clinic found that about 30% of cricket farms have parasites that carry disease to humans, stating that edible insects are an underestimated reservoir of parasites.
The NIH claims cricket exoskeletons, or chitin, are a digestible fiber, but they don't know how it digests, also stating that chitin consumption triggers immune responses. Science Direct suggests cricket flour has markings for high levels of detectable arsenic. The NIH says novel foods like crickets show the presence of arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and mercury.