Polish gov’t minister proposes “anti-bug” law requiring labels for foods that contain INSECTS

04/12/2023 / By Ramon Tomey

A government minister in Poland proposed an “anti-bug” law that would require food products that contain insects in any form to carry a special warning label.

Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister Janusz Kowalski of the United Poland (SP) party unveiled the proposal on April 6. He said that he and other SP members “have initiated the preparation of legal regulations … that will give Polish consumers knowledge about food products containing so-called bug additives.”

“This is an anti-bug law,” Kowalski continued. He expounded that if the bill passes, products that contain insects in whatever form as food additives would have to include a label that reads: “Warning: This food product contains insect protein.”

The deputy agriculture minister also took jabs at Rafal Trzaskowski of the Civic Platform party, who is the incumbent mayor of the Polish capital Warsaw.

“Dried mealworm larvae, powdered cricket – these are among the insects that the Eurocrats and Trzaskowski call new food,” Kowalski addressed fellow lawmakers in the Polish parliament.

“If [he] wants to eat mazurek made of dried insects, he has the right to do so. We – as conservatives [and] as Poles – definitely prefer normal Polish food, Polish meat [and] Polish dairy products,” the deputy minister said. Mazurek is a sweet cake traditionally baked during Easter in Poland.

The anti-bug law put forward by Kowalski came amid a campaign by Poland’s ruling coalition and its associated media claiming that the opposition bloc will restrict traditional meat in favor of insects if it gains power. The opposition bloc denied that it had any intention of prohibiting Poles’ meat consumption, with Trzaskowski himself even encouraging people to “enjoy steaks to [their] heart’s content” in a tweet.

The campaign arose from an article in the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper about a report from the C40 Cities group that recommended reducing meat consumption to reduce emissions. Warsaw is a member of the C40 cities, and Trzaskowski has attended and spoken at its events.

Italy bans insect flours for use in pizza and pasta

In January, the European Commission approved products from mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae and house crickets (Acheta domesticus). While they were not the first insect products approved in the European Union, officials emphasized at the time that “nobody will be forced to eat insects.”

Nevertheless, many conservatives in Poland and other European nations saw the commission’s approval of insects as part of a push to undermine traditional culinary cultures – especially meat consumption. Poland is not alone in regulating foods with insect protein, however.

Over in Italy, the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced moves to ban the use of flour made from insects in the country’s traditional dishes such as pizza and pasta. It also said that insect powders will be displayed separately from other foods on supermarket shelves and that their packages will have labels in large lettering. (Related: Italy BANS bugs from being used in pasta and pizza – sorry, Klaus!)

Three ministers under the Meloni government called a press conference in the Italian capital Rome to announce four decrees against insect products over fears that insects might be associated with the country’s traditional cuisine. Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said, aside from segregating and labeling insect products, a ban on the use of insect flours in “typical” Italian products such as pizza and pasta is in order.

“It’s fundamental that these flours are not confused with food made in Italy,” said Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida. “Whoever wants to eat these products can, but those who don’t – and I imagine that will be most Italians – will be able to choose.”

Visit CricketProtein.news for more stories about foods that contain insects.

Watch Dave Cullen of the Computing Forever YouTube channel discussing the push to normalize insect consumption below.

This video is from the Contrarian channel on Brighteon.com.