[Ticker] EU agency okays worm for human consumption

The dried yellow mealworm or "Tenebrio molitor larva" is safe for human consumption, the European Food Safety Agency (Efsa) in Parma, Italy, said Wednesday, in its first approval of an insect as a "novel food". The Efsa opinion could lead to EU-wide approval after a French firm which farmed the worms, Micronutris, applied for a permit. Novel foods are seen as alternatives to high-CO2 emitting food sectors, such as cattle.