Agriculture Minister Petre Daea is urging Romanians not to consume a new insect, the dung beetle larva, which the European Commission recently added to the list of suitable for use in the kitchen, because “approval does not mean food”.

“Keep them in the permits, but don’t put them in the food, don’t put them on the plate, because we know what we produce, we know what we eat, we know what’s good for us. From this point of view, I am not worried, approval does not mean food, because we know how to produce in Romania and we have the grace of God, where, with whom and what to do (…). Leave the insects in the insect box,” said Agriculture Minister Petre Daea on Friday when asked about the new food approved by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), Agerpres reports.

The European Commission has recently approved a new food, namely dung beetle larvae (Alphitobius diaperinus), after EFSA added this insect species to the list suitable for commercialization and human consumption, reports Rador, citing 20 Minutos.

It is the fourth permitted edible insect after the house cricket (Acheta domesticus), the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Dung beetle larvae can be eaten frozen, dried or ground.

In its scientific opinion, EFSA states that dung beetle larvae can cause reactions in people with allergies to crustaceans and mites and should not be consumed by children.