– I would not have thought that it was insects if someone had asked, it is ingenious to put in such things, says Cecilie Beinert. She is an associate professor at the University of Agder. Beinert has just had a taste of crispbread that contains insect meal. – I can understand that some people think it’s a little strange. When we talk about food culture, insects are not something we are so used to eating. But elsewhere in the world it is taken for granted, she says. Different feedback The student company CrickCracks is behind the crispbreads. – This should be a natural way to get protein, if, for example, you eat a lot of plant-based. That’s what Miriam Elisa Olsen, who is the general manager of CrickCracks, says. The company started as a school project on the one-year study program in nutrition, food and culture at the University of Agder. The response has been varied. – Many people think it is a bit disgusting, we have received a lot of mixed reactions, Olsen says. Powdered mealworms and crickets are mixed into the dough. The desire was to camouflage the insects. – Putting them in crispbread means that it becomes a bit hidden and that you do not really think about the fact that there are insects in them, says design manager Veronika Fridheim. – You do not think about the fact that there are insects in the crispbreads when you eat them, the girls in CrickCracks say. Photo: Ada Bjøranger / NRK Good protein source – When you grind them up, it opens up another opportunity to use insect proteins in products. This is what climate researcher at NTNU Anders Hammer Strømman says. He is one of the main Norwegian authors behind the latest report from the UN Climate Panel. Strømman is also positive about the students’ insect meal. – The use of insect protein is a good example of the type of innovations we need to arrive at the solutions that can ensure us lower emissions. Strømman says that food production accounts for 30 percent of our total greenhouse gas emissions. Meat production is among the worst. – A reduced meat-based diet contributes to a lower climate footprint. And insect production is a good alternative to producing protein with lower climate footprints. Insect production has a much lower climate footprint than production of proteins from meat, says climate researcher Anders Hammer Strømman. Photo: Maren Agdestein / NTNU Has fallen in love At the University of Agder, taste samples of the insect crispbreads are handed out. – Putting insects in foods that many people eat a lot of and should eat more of, such as coarse grain products, is the way to go with regard to our health and the health of the planet. This is what Kaia Heslien, associate professor at the Department of Nutrition and Public Health, says. The crispbreads also appeal to the students. – It tastes like a regular coarse crispbread, very good, says student Maria Holte.
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Makes crispbread from insects – NRK Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
