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Food products made with insect ingredients are displayed during the Eating Insects Detroit: Exploring the Culture of Insects as Food and Feed conference at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, May 26, 2016. Photo/REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
WARSAW – The European Union (EU) is waging a “food war” with the aim of undermining traditional Western eating habits, according to Poland’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture Krzysztof Cieciora.
The statement comes after a European Commission decision in January approved the use of domestic crickets in food.
Appearing on Polish Radio Lodz on Friday (3/3/2023), Cieciora accused EU officials of “trying to change the trend”.
He argued their recent decision represented a “battle” and a “food war”.
“Overturning dietary values in the West becomes a serious element of discussion,” urged Cieciora, who also foresaw an aggressive campaign to promote newly introduced ingredients across the block.
According to him, Warsaw did not approve “this alternative” or be told by the EU “what and how much we should eat.”
According to Cieciora, although the Polish government has no plans to ban food items made from insects, they are determined to “protect the value of traditional food and freedom of choice”.
In January, the EU’s executive arm officially authorized food companies to use partially defatted and powdered domestic crickets and Alphitobius diaperinus larvae meal for human consumption.
The Commission cited the scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority, which in August 2021 concluded “a freeze-dried formulation of whole-house crickets” was “safe below proposed use levels.”
