"The Italian Association of Assipan Confcommercio Bakers expresses its strong opposition to the use of domestic cricket powder in the production of artisan bread and bakery products".
The evaluation comes with the Implementing Regulation 2023/5 of the European Commission which authorizes the placing on the market of the partially defatted powder of "Acheta domesticus" (house cricket) as a novel food.
"While understanding the processes of globalization and the related gastronomic evolutions, Assipan Confcommercio believes - writes the sector association in a note - that it is necessary to protect good fresh Italian artisan bread rich in history and tradition".
Assipan recalls that "in compliance with current legislation, in consideration of the
580, the bread must be produced exclusively with wheat flour, water and yeast with or without the addition of common salt". The association also underlines that "although, subsequently, the regulation referred to in Presidential Decree 502/1998 allows the addition of additional ingredients in the production of bread, the sales denomination must be completed by the mention of the ingredient used and, in the case of several ingredients, of that or those characterizing". Assipan comments that "apart from the regulatory aspects, he believes that there is now for years the suspicion of a gradual attack by foreign economic powers on Italian gastronomic excellence". "For this Assipan Confcommercio - concludes theassociation - will personally commit itself to the defense of good fresh bread and artisan bakery products, expression of the thousand-year-old gastronomic culture of our country".