Mealworm larvae meatballs, on sale in one of the largest supermarket chains in Europe

Switzerland’s Coop supermarket chain started selling meatballs and burgers made from mealworm larvae and will continue to sell food made from insects after selling such items was legalized by the government.

Selling food made from insects was a problem, until now in grocery stores in Switzerland, because the law didn’t distinguished between larva infested products, that can not be sold, and edible larva meant for human consumption.

Last December, the government decided that insects can be sold as long as normal food safety regulations are respected, the new law coming into effect this May.

Packages of the insect burgers and meatballs will sit in the refrigerated meat section of the Coop supermarkets.

Coop said that it’s shift to insect based food was partially determined by environmental concerns.

An insect burger capable of replacing beef would have a significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, the company said.

Global beef production adds more greenhouse gas to the atmosphere than cars, having five times the greenhouse gas impact of chicken and eleven times that of vegetables.

On the other hand, insects have a low carbon footprint. They can be fed with organic waste, such as vegetable scraps, reducing waste further while improving the economics.

The gourmet insect cookbook

Coop plans to offer more insect products beyond burgers and meatballs in the near future. The supermarket chain is collaborating with Essento, an startup which has been developing insect-based cuisine for the last three years.

Essento has developed around 50 recipes of insect based food – ”insects for everyday life and special occasions” – according to their gourmet insect cookbook.

Seven of the recipes were created by top chefs with a total of 3 Michelin stars.

Coop is Europe’s second largest cash&carry and wholesale supplies business, with around 2,000 retail outlets in Switzerland and 124 cash&carry markets in European countries.

The Swiss organic producers’ association (Bio Suisse) says Coop accounts for half of all the organic food sold in Switzerland. The supermarket chain was rated ”World’s Most Sustainable Retailer” by the independent German rating agency Oekom Research.

According to National Geographic, two billion people around the world regularly eat insects, but the practice is rare in the western world.

The most eaten insect in Europe and the US is the cricket, usually dried and milled into a powder and used in protein bars or baked goods.

Mealworms are also increasing in popularity in the western world.

Mealworms are sold fried or baked as snacks and they can be added as an ingredient in salads or mashed and used for making meatballs or burgers.