Insects as food: Its hurdles against the opportunities

The hazards of rearing insects and using them in food production, especially as food ingredients are not well understood. The lack of awareness of food safety in many countries will continue to impede the growth of edible insect production and consumption in specific markets. Chemical, biological, and allergy risks are the three types of potential food safety threats and these aspects, in particular the appropriate selection of high-quality, risk-free feed substrate, must be assessed and regulated in order to increase the food safety of edible insects. This can only be done under controlled conditions as instead of wild harvesting. The possibilities and problems of using insects as food are explored here based on accessible data from scientific research.