Bet on the good taste of the insects

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Marie-Eve Dumont

Wednesday, 7 march, 2018 01:00

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Wednesday, 7 march, 2018 01:00

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The owners of a quebec-based company of pasta with insects, work at the opening of the first farm ténébrions in Quebec by building on their taste of nuts and sunflower seeds.

• READ ALSO: mealworms rather than beef

“Producing ourselves will lower our production costs so that our pasta to be more accessible. We would like to offer other products such as sauces, powder, sweet stuff, or even make bread “, wishes to Claude Girard, one of four owners of Tottem Nutrition, which sells for nearly a year, shell made of flour ténébrions and crickets. A bag of 95 g sells in this time of 3.75 $.

The interest of consumers for products made with insect grows. The giant Loblaw has made packs of 113 g of powder from the crickets on the shelves of his supermarket Provigo.

“Sales of products derived from insects increase of 50% per year in the West. There is something that happens. There is, therefore, according to me, an interest in Loblaw to evaluate the commercial aspect of this product. He paws the ground, ” says Sylvain Charlebois, dean of the Faculty of management at Dalhousie University, in Halifax.

Companies in the Quebec market already for several years, products based on flour insect, most often the chorus, as bars for athletes.

“It tastes like the corn “

The advantage that is often put forward to encourage consumers to buy such products is the high rate of protein found there. It is therefore an interesting alternative to meat.

But the owners of Tottem Nutrition believe that to conquer the hearts of consumers, it is necessary to focus on the taste associated with each insect.

“If one wants to break the reaction of disgust, which is associated with them, there was no choice,” insists Mr. Girard, who is head of training.

To get there, they have concentrated their efforts on the production of ténébrions milling which is less expensive than the cricket, for example, that the taste varies from one growth stage to another.

“For the mass production, we go with the larva, also called the worm of flour, which tastes like nuts, the sunflower seed. There are also the nymphs, it is tender, it tastes like the corn “, citing the example of Mr. Girard. This is due to the relationship with leaders and the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec to develop projects.

10 tonnes per year

The owners of Tottem Nutrition are in discussion to install the farm ténébrions millers in Laval by the end of 2018. The company collaborates with the Centre for agri-food research Mirabel (CRAM) in order to find the best ways to maximize the breeding. Researchers from McGill University also think of a way to automate the production.

Mr. Girard aims to produce 10 tons of ténébrions per year, enough to develop its own products and supply to other companies in quebec. At this time, it is the ontario Entomo Farms that provides many of them.