Hungary mandates labelling practices for insect-based foods
Hungary's Agriculture Ministry has changed rules to require food containing insect protein to be clearly labelled and sold only on designated shelf space, Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said on Wednesday.
Consumers must be able to “distinguish and differentiate” products with insect protein under the new rules.
Nagy noted that the European Commission has already approved four insects as commercial food sources, a decision Hungary alone opposed, as the European Union is faced with neither a food nor a protein shortage.
Surveys and research show that “Hungarians don’t want to eat insects”, he added.
He cited a survey by food safety authority Nebih indicating that over 70 percent of Hungarians “strongly reject the possibility” of eating food containing insect protein.
He also pointed to the importance of preserving gastronomic traditions.
