Sainsbury's has become the first UK high street supermarket to stock edible insects.

Barbecue-flavour roasted crickets are being put on sale in 250 stores across the country from Sunday.

The Eat Grub's "smoky BBQ crunchy roasted crickets" are described as "crunchy in texture with a rich smoky flavour".

Packets of the insects will cost £1.50.

The grubs have been on sale from online supermarket Ocado for at least five months, with mixed reviews.


One poster, who gave the product one star out of five, said: "My hubby... said they didn't taste at all of BBQ... he could taste was fish sauce? Way too expensive as well."

But another, who gave the full 5/5, said: "Tried the final flavour in this selection from Eat Grub and LOVED this - much tastier than a bag of crisps without the calories. Couldnt stop eating them!"

Image: Fried insects, like these in Cambodia, are a popular food source in many parts of the world

Sainsbury's suggests the crickets can be eaten as a snack or used to garnish dishes such as tacos, noodles and salads.

Eat Grub was formed in 2014 by Shami Radia and Neil Whippey to enable people living in Western countries to try a food source that is commonly available in some other parts of the world.

Mr Radia said: "Currently, insects are eaten and enjoyed by two billion people worldwide.

"We're on a mission to show the West that as well as having very strong sustainability and environmental credentials, they are also seriously tasty and shouldn't be overlooked as a great snack or recipe ingredient."

Sainsbury's and EatGrub say insects are more popular than might be expected, with a survey finding that 10% of Britons have tried them and more than half of those have enjoyed them.

Eat Grub says dried crickets contain more protein per gram than beef, chicken or pork - with 68g of protein per 100g, compared to 31g of protein in beef.

Edible insects are also said to be more sustainable than other meat, taking up less land and requiring less animal feed than livestock.

Food policy manager at WWF Duncan Williamson said edible insects could help reduce shoppers' carbon footprint.

He said: "As the population increases, we urgently need to look at alternative protein sources to make the most of land available for food production."