MFDS Recognizes Pulmuchi as Tenth Edible Insect... Used in Foods like Powdered Meals

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] As edible insects gain attention as future food sources, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Rural Development Administration announced on the 13th that they have recognized the grasshopper family insect "Pulmuchi," which insect farming households have recently requested to be registered as a food ingredient, as a new food ingredient.

This food ingredient recognition was made after the Rural Development Administration conducted evaluations on Pulmuchi's characteristics, nutritional value, toxicity, and standardization of farming and manufacturing processes, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety assessed its safety. It is the 10th edible insect to be recognized as a food ingredient.

With the recognition of Pulmuchi as a food ingredient, the total number of edible insects available in Korea has increased to 10 species, including Baekgangjam, edible silkworm (larvae and pupae), grasshopper, brown mealworm (larvae), white-spotted flower chafer (larvae), rhinoceros beetle (larvae), two-spotted cricket (adult), and American giant mealworm (larvae).

Pulmuchi belongs to the same grasshopper family as the grasshopper, which has been used as an edible insect, but it is known to be more productive as it is more than twice the size and has a farming period of only about half.

It is rich in protein (70%) and unsaturated fatty acids (7.7%), making it highly valuable as a food ingredient and usable in various foods such as powdered meals.

Prior to the recognition of Pulmuchi as a food ingredient, the Rural Development Administration conducted research for about two years on Pulmuchi's characteristics, nutritional value, toxicity evaluation, and standardization of optimal manufacturing processes.

Based on these research results, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reviewed safety data including domestic and international recognition and edible status, as well as human impact data for about eight months, and after scientific evaluation including expert consultations, newly recognized Pulmuchi as a food ingredient.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We will continue to strive to expand the scope of food ingredient recognition based on scientific safety evaluations so that diverse and safe food ingredients can be provided to consumers."

The Rural Development Administration said, "Insects have excellent nutritional value as alternative protein sources and are suitable for carbon neutrality realization due to their eco-friendly farming characteristics. With the addition of Pulmuchi as a food ingredient, we expect increased income for insect farming households and revitalization of the insect food industry."

The number of insect farming households in Korea increased from 1,597 in 2016 to 2,873 last year, and during the same period, the sales of insect farming households rose from 22.5 billion KRW to 41.4 billion KRW.

The global insect market is rapidly growing and is expected to reach 1.5 billion USD (approximately 1.75 trillion KRW) by 2026.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.