Businesses wanting to sell bugs as food in the UK have warned they are in limbo because of post-Brexit trade law confusion. Ministers have been pressed to update food standards law to stop British traders falling behind their EU counterparts because of a lack of transition arrangements after Brexit, amid concerns some could be shut down.
The growing industry includes frontline food shops, meal delivery kit companies, and suppliers to major supermarkets, and has made an estimated £6 million revenue over the last decade. The Woven Network, a trade body representing edible insect businesses, hopes that a decision from the Food Standards Agency in June will give them blanket approval to trade across the UK.
But until then they lie in limbo, with local food standards officials able to prevent companies from selling bug-based produce if they believe it is not safe to eat. Maisie Paddon – who had hoped to sell insect based burgers, sausages and curries through her company Be Bugs at the Glastonbury Festival this year – believes this contributed to her inability to trade at the world-renowned music event, where competition for food stalls is high.
