Eat your bugs!
IFT 2015 student competition in Chicago on July 12
Cricketa, Coco-Wormy and Meal-malade: these are just a few of the insect-laden products judges will be evaluating and tasting at the 'Developing Solutions for Developing Countries' student competition at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo (IFT15) in Chicago, coming up on July 11-14 at McCormick Place South.
The IFT 2015 show brings together more than 23,000 top food science and technology professionals from more than 90 countries, representing the most prominent organisations in the global food sector.
The IFTSA 'Developing Solutions for Developing Countries' university competition at the show judges new products and processes that are targeted at improving the quality of life for people in developing countries.
This year’s contest challenges student teams to develop a nutritious and desirable product using insects as a major ingredient — everything from cricket cookies, mealworm biscuits to larvae flours and stews made with spent silkworm pupae.
While not very common in the US, entomogaphy or the eating of insects is common in much of the world. The advantages to eating insects is that they are a much more efficient and affordable source of protein than livestock, particularly beef and pork.
A total of six university team finalists representing the US, Canada, Costa Rica and Malaysia will be judged at IFT15 on Sunday 12 July from 2-4 PM (CT)in Convention Center Room 404BC.
