Canned insects serve as protein source for the poor
.c Kyodo News Service
BANGKOK, Feb. 23 (Kyodo) - Grasshoppers, crickets and stink bugs are among the insects that some Thai people have traditionally caught in fields as substitute protein sources for meat.
Now they can find them in cans.
Teachers and students at Rajamangala Institute of Technology in Thailand's northeastern province of Sakon Nakorn have launched the country's first-ever canned insect project, choosing grasshoppers, crickets, mole crickets, red ant eggs, silkworms and stink bugs as the six types of 'insect food' to be canned.
They are first fried and then sprinkled with salt and pepper to enhance the taste.
'Bugs are a seasonal food,' said Ratana Koomklang, a lecturer at the institute who started the project over a year ago.
Noting that most Thais who enjoy them are from the northeastern provinces, she said, 'We want to enable people to eat them wherever they may be in the country.'
'Northeasterners who have left their homes to work in Bangkok or elsewhere are craving for bugs,' she said.
The canned insects, however, are not available in supermarkets.
The institute so far has no ambition to make the innovation into a big commercial business, but rather wants to provide a protein source for the poor.
Stink bugs, otherwise known as water beetles, are the most protein-rich of the six, containing 21 grams of protein per 100 grams of insect, along with the highest amounts of vitamins B1, B2 and Niacin.
But crickets, with only 12.9 grams of protein, have over twice the amount of calcium as stink bugs and over 15 times as many carbohydrates, according to the institute.
'I love the canned mole cricket. It's just yummy,' said Supaporn Chairat, 29, who has already tasted all six bugs.
'Stink bugs are actually not bad. They are crispy but stink just like the name,' she said.
The 50-gram cans are priced at 30 baht ($0.81), a relatively affordable price for local people.
Ratana said there has been a good response to the launch of the product. She said a number of people have placed orders with the institute via mail but may have to wait for weeks or months, depending on the product's availability.
The institute produced only about 1,000 cans last year since it aims not to harm the bugs' natural cycles. Villagers, who use large fluorescent lights to attract the bugs, are also told not to use chemicals to catch them.
AP-NY-02-23-00 0435EST |
