Safe Adoption of Food Entomology – Boosting Uptake, Guidance and Standards (SAFE-BUGS): Detecting Allergens in Edible Insects to Enhance Food Safety, Safeguard Public Health, and Build Consumer Trust in Singapore.
Role
Collaborator
Description
Singapore aims to produce 30% of its food locally by 2030, and edible insects are a promising way to help meet this goal. They are nutritious, require little land or water to farm, and produce far fewer greenhouse gases than livestock. Products such as cricket protein bars and mealworm snacks are already appearing in shops. However, there is a concern for people with shellfish and house dust mite allergies. Because insects are closely related to prawns and crabs, their proteins can be similar. This means some people with shellfish and/or mite allergy might also react to insect-based foods. Right now, doctors advise all shellfish-allergic consumers to avoid insects entirely, but this is challenging and may be more restrictive than necessary. We will use advanced laboratory methods to identify the exact insect proteins that trigger allergic reactions and test how food processing affects them. Together with SFA’s allergen team, we will design, establish and implement reliable food tests. At the same time, we will study 60 allergy-suffering consumers. We will use safe, standard methods such as skin tests and blood tests that check reactions to hundreds of allergens at once. A small group will also eat insect-containing food products under strict supervision. The results of this study will provide food companies and regulators with clear testing methods and give doctors better tools to advise sensitised consumers. This will protect people with allergies while allowing Singapore to safely benefit from sustainable insect proteins.
Date
01 Jan 2026 - 30 Jun 2027
Project Type
N/A
Keywords
food allergy;food safety;edible insect;future foods;alternative proteins
Funding Body
Singapore Food Agency
Amount
296000
Project Team
Ludwig Lopata;Shaymaviswanathan Karnaneedi;Thimo Ruethers