Edible insects in strategies to address micronutrient deficiencies: nutritional composition, bioavailability, safety, and the European regulatory context

Abstract

Micronutrient deficiencies can coexist with adequate or excessive energy intake and remain a major public-health problem. Edible insects have therefore been proposed not only as alternative protein sources, but also as ingredients capable of increasing the density of iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and other nutrients in staple foods. This structured narrative review critically evaluates that suggestion. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched up to and including July 2026, supplemented by backward citation searching and current European Union (EU) legal and risk-assessment documents. Evidence was prioritized from human intervention and stable-isotope studies through systematic reviews, validated compositional analyses, food-formulation studies and authoritative assessments. The literature confirms substantial nutrient density in many edible species, but direct comparisons are complicated by differences in species, developmental stage, feed, processing, analytical method and whether results are expressed on a fresh- or dry-matter basis. Total nutrient content also does not establish nutritional efficacy. Human evidence is nutrient-specific: iron absorption from the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) was low in a stable-isotope trial, whereas a 2025 trial in Kenyan preschool children showed that cricket-enriched maize meals delivered well-absorbed zinc. Vitamin B12 concentrations are highly variable, and some insect products contain inactive corrinoid analogues, creating a risk of overestimating physiologically active B12. Food enrichment with insect powders generally increases protein and selected mineral contents, but higher inclusion levels may impair texture, colour, flavour and acceptance. Safety depends on controlled rearing substrates, hygienic processing, heat treatment, management of spore-forming microorganisms and chemical contaminants, and allergen labelling, particularly for consumers allergic to crustaceans or house-dust mites. In the EU, authorized preparations derive from four insect species and are regulated as product-specific novel foods. Edible insects should therefore be regarded as a potentially useful component of diversified, culturally adapted micronutrient strategies, not as a universal remedy for hidden hunger. Future research should quantify active nutrient forms, absorption, long-term clinical outcomes, affordability and real-world acceptability in target populations.