Coop, Switzerland's second-largest supermarket chain, announced on Monday it will start selling insect-based food for humans later this month, making it the first grocer to do so in the Alpine nation.

The offered products are made of protein-rich meal worm produced by Swiss start-up Essento. The items will be sold in select Coop branches across Switzerland, including Geneva, Bern and Zurich.

The decision comes after Switzerland revised its food safety laws in May, paving the way for the production and distribution of insect-based food, including "insect balls" and insect burgers (pictured above).

Read more: Are insects the food of the future?

In order to meet Swiss safety laws, the insects must be bred under strict supervision for four generations before they're ready for human consumption.

The insect balls represent a healthy culinary specialty that mixes meal worms with rice, carrots, celery, leeks and a pinch of chili, said Essento co-founder Christian Bärtsch.

The insect balls are one of two products to be offered to those doing their groceries in the Alpine nation of Switzerland

'Low environment cost'

Over the past decade, food security authorities have attempted to bring greater awareness to the advantages of consuming insect-based food items.

"Insects provide food at low environmental cost, contribute positively to livelihoods and play a fundamental role in nature. However, these benefits are largely unknown to the public," said a 2013 study by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Read more: How will we feed nine billion people?

The study noted that by 2050, the global population is set to hit 9 billion, which would require food production to at least double to meet food security demands. Insect-based food provides a healthy alternative to traditional means, according to the study's authors.

Coop is set to offer the new line of food products starting August 21, according to a company statement.

Bugs for Breakfast? Bon appetit? Bugs can be tasty. So why is it that we don't we eat more of them? There are plenty of reasons to do so: insects are easy to raise and consume fewer resources than cows, sheep or pigs. They don’t need pastures, they multiply quickly and they don't produce greenhouse gasses.

Bugs for Breakfast? Healthy and hearty Water bugs, scorpions, cockroaches - on a stick or fried to accompany beer: these are delicacies in Asia, and healthy ones at that. Insects, especially larvae, are an energy and protein bomb. One hundred grams of termites, for example, have 610 calories - more than chocolate! Add to that 38 grams of protein and 46 grams of fat.

Bugs for Breakfast? Vitamin bombs Insects are full of unsaturated fatty acids, iron, vitamins and minerals says the UN’S Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The organization wants to increase the popularity of insect recipes around the world.

Bugs for Breakfast? Yummy! In many countries around the world, insects have long been a popular treat, especially in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Mopane caterpillars, like the ones shown here, are a delicacy in southern Africa. They're typically boiled, roasted or grilled.

Bugs for Breakfast? A la carte Even international fine cuisine features insects. And in Mexican restaurants, worms with guacamole are a popular snack. Meanwhile, new restaurants in Germany are starting to pop up that offer grasshoppers, meal worms and caterpillars to foodies with a taste for adventure.

Bugs for Breakfast? Spiders in a skillet In Europe and America, beetles, grubs, locusts and other creepy crawlers are usually met with a ‘yuck!’ The thought of eating deep-fried tarantulas, a popular treat in Cambodia, is met with great disgust. But is there a good reason for that response?

Bugs for Breakfast? Gourmet grasshoppers Fine food specialists Terre Exotique (Exotic Earth) offer a grilled grasshopper snack. The French company currently sells the crunchy critters online via special order. A 30-gram jar goes for $11.50 (9 euros).

Bugs for Breakfast? Sustainable and ecological There are about 1,000 edible insect varieties in the world. Bees are one of them. They're a sustainable source of nutrition, full of protein and vitamins - and tasty for the most part. The world needs to discover this delicacy, says the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Bugs for Breakfast? Fact: Mealworms environmentally friendly In 2012, researchers used ecological criteria to monitor mealworm production at an insect farm in the Netherlands. The result? For the production of one kilogram of edible protein, worm farms use less energy and much less space than dairy or beef farms.

Bugs for Breakfast? Beetle treats Even in Germany, insects used to be eaten in abundance. May beetle soup was popular until the mid-1900s. The taste has been described as reminiscent of crab soup. In addition, beetles were sugared or candied, then sold in pastry shops.

Bugs for Breakfast? Cuisine for cows French start-up Ynsect is cooking up plans to offer ground up mealworms as a cost-effective feed for animals like fish, chicken and pigs. This could benefit the European market, where 70 percent of animal feed is imported. Author: Lori Herber



ls/rc (dpa, AFP)