Edible insects: the honest guide to crickets, mealworms and locusts
Edible insects are the most efficient animal protein on the planet, and in Europe they are finally legal, farmed and tested like any other food. This guide answers what people actually ask before they buy: which insects you can eat, whether they are safe, what they taste like, where ours come from and how to start. Sens has been making food from crickets since 2016, which makes us the oldest insect food brand in Europe still standing, so we have had time to hear every question.
What counts as edible insects in the EU
Insects are regulated as novel foods. Nothing reaches a shelf without a dossier, a safety assessment by EFSA and an authorisation. Four species are currently approved for human consumption, and these are the only ones you will find at Sens:
- House cricket (Acheta domesticus), authorised 2022 and 2023, whole, dried and as powder. Our main ingredient.
- Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), authorised 2021.
- Buffalo worm or lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), authorised 2023.
- Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), authorised 2021.
Any product that contains them has to name the species in the ingredients and carry an allergen notice. Nobody is slipping insects into your bread; the label tells you.
The four insects we sell, and what they taste like
All four are authorised in the EU. Each card leads to the unseasoned pack for cooking.
Crickets
The gateway insect. Roasted, they are nutty and lightly earthy with a crunch like sunflower seeds. Our main ingredient since 2016.
Mealworms
Milder and softer, close to roasted peanuts. The better choice if a whole cricket looks like a step too far.
Buffalo worms
Smaller than mealworms and the mildest of the four. Sold unseasoned in value packs for baking and stir-fries.
Locusts
The biggest and meatiest: a crisp shell and a flavour people compare to roast chicken skin or fried prawns. For roasting whole.Where to find them at Sens. Crickets come seasoned in snack packs (parmesan, chilli and lime, smoked paprika, chocolate), in a test tube for the dare, and unseasoned for cooking. Mealworms are available seasoned and unseasoned, buffalo worms and locusts unseasoned.
If you would rather eat insects without seeing them, cricket flour is 70 % protein and almost neutral in taste. It is the ingredient inside our protein bars, pasta and porridge.
Read next: Eating insects: benefits, risks and what they taste like, Insect flour: what is in it and which foods contain it, Eating locusts: taste, nutrition and how to cook them and Buffalo worms vs mealworms.
Are edible insects safe?
Yes, with one clear exception. Insects share a protein (tropomyosin) with crustaceans and house dust mites, so if you are allergic to shrimp, crab or dust mites, you may react to insects too. Every Sens pack says so.
For everyone else, farmed insects are safer than most meat: they are raised in closed, controlled conditions, heat-treated after harvest and tested for microbes and heavy metals in accredited labs. Crickets are also too genetically distant from humans to transmit diseases to us, which is one of the reasons EFSA approved them.
Where our insects come from
Our crickets are farmed by Cricket One in Vietnam, a modern vertical farm that did not wait for someone else to open the European market: it filed its own novel food dossier with the EU and received the authorisation in 2023. Crickets there are raised on a plant-based diet with no antibiotics, in dense colonies that match how they live in nature, and harvested by cooling, which sends them into a natural dormant state. Processing, blending and packing happens in the Czech Republic under EU food law.
Why insects, nutritionally
Dried crickets are around 60 to 70 % protein with all nine essential amino acids, on par with beef and ahead of most plant proteins. Mealworms and buffalo worms are closer to 50 % protein with more unsaturated fat. None of this is exotic: insects are a normal part of the diet for about two billion people, and Europeans ate them until a few centuries ago.
60 to 70 % protein
Vitamin B12, iron, zinc
Chitin, a prebiotic fibre
Food for 2 billion people
Why insects, environmentally
Insects are cold-blooded, so they do not burn feed just to stay warm. That makes them dramatically more efficient at turning feed into protein than cattle, pigs or chicken. Exact figures depend on the farm and the study, so we do not throw around a single number here; the references are in the Sens booklet.
Less water
Less feed
Less land
Lower emissions
How to start
Four steps, from the first bite to cooking with insects.
Seasoned snack first
Parmesan crickets or chilli-lime mealworms are the easiest entry. Eat them like crisps.
Try a set
The tasting bundle gives you crickets and mealworms in several flavours for the price of two packs.Cook with them
Unseasoned crickets and mealworms behave like nuts: toast in a dry pan, salt, add to salads, soups, tacos or rice. Cricket flour replaces 10 to 20 % of regular flour in bread, pancakes and cookies.
Make it a game
Gift boxes and the Bug Challenge party game exist because the first bite is better with witnesses.Edible insects: frequently asked questions
Is it legal to sell edible insects in the EU?
Yes. Insects are regulated as novel foods. The EU has authorised the house cricket (Acheta domesticus, 2022 and 2023), the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor, 2021), the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria, 2021) and the lesser mealworm or buffalo worm (Alphitobius diaperinus, 2023). Every Sens product uses only these authorised species.
Are edible insects safe to eat?
Yes, with one exception: people allergic to crustaceans (shrimp, crab) or house dust mites may react to insects as well, because they share a protein called tropomyosin. That is why every Sens pack carries an allergen warning. For everyone else, farmed insects are as safe as any other food: they are raised in controlled conditions, heat-treated and lab-tested.
What do crickets taste like?
Roasted crickets taste nutty and slightly earthy, a bit like roasted sunflower seeds or shrimp chips, with a light crunch. Seasoned, they take on the flavour of the spice: parmesan, chilli and lime, smoked paprika or chocolate. Cricket flour is almost neutral with a faint toasted note, which is why it disappears into pasta, bars and porridge.
What do mealworms and locusts taste like?
Mealworms are milder and softer than crickets, close to roasted peanuts or puffed grain. Buffalo worms are smaller and even milder. Locusts are the meatiest of the four, with a crisp shell and a taste often compared to roasted chicken skin or fried prawns.
Where do Sens insects come from?
Our crickets are farmed by Cricket One in Vietnam, a modern vertical farm that filed its own novel food dossier with the EU and had it approved in 2023. Crickets are raised without antibiotics, fed a plant-based diet and harvested by cooling, which puts them into a natural dormant state.
How much protein is in edible insects?
Dried crickets are roughly 60 to 70 % protein by weight and contain all nine essential amino acids. Cricket flour from Sens has about 70 % protein, plus vitamin B12, iron, zinc and chitin, a prebiotic fibre. Mealworms and buffalo worms are around 50 % protein with more healthy fat.
Which foods contain insects without me noticing?
None, legally. Any food containing insects must list the species in the ingredients and carry an allergen warning. At Sens we go further and put insects in the product name. If you want to avoid insects, read the label. If you want to try them, start with a flavoured snack pack.
How do I cook with unseasoned insects?
Treat them like nuts or seeds. Toast dried crickets or mealworms in a dry pan for two minutes, season with salt and spices, and use them on salads, soups, tacos or rice. Locusts are great roasted whole with garlic and chilli. Cricket flour replaces 10 to 20 % of regular flour in bread, pancakes and cookies.
Why are insects more sustainable than beef or chicken?
Insects are cold-blooded and do not waste energy keeping warm, so they convert feed into protein far more efficiently. Per kilo of protein, farmed crickets need a fraction of the land, water and feed of cattle and emit far less greenhouse gas. The numbers vary by farm and study, which is why we publish our sources in the Sens booklet linked on the cricket protein page.
What is the best way to try edible insects for the first time?
Start with a seasoned snack pack of crickets or mealworms (parmesan and chilli lime are the easiest entry) or a tasting set with several flavours. If you would rather not see the insect, cricket protein bars and pasta give you the nutrition with zero visual challenge.
