The Government currently has no plans to promote eating insects. The ‘Thematic report on emerging food innovations in the UK’ is one of the resources published by the FSA and FSS on the Innovative Food Guidance Hub. The report provides a forward look of emerging food innovations expected in the UK over the next 5 to 15 years, where food safety and regulatory preparedness could be needed. The role of the FSA and FSS is to protect consumers and ensure food is safe and what it says it is. The report does not promote or discourage any particular technology.

There have been no detected cases of domestically acquired infestation with Cochliomyia hominivorax in the UK to date.

New World Screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, a parasitic blowfly, is classified as a notifiable pathogen under the Specified Animal Pathogens Order (SAPO) in the United Kingdom. The fly is not established in the UK and there have been no recorded cases of screwworm infection in the UK cattle herd.

In the event of a suspected or confirmed case, the Secretary of State would either be notified via the Animal and Plant Health Agency or by the Health and Safety Executive who are the SAPO licensing authority.

There are no plans to review Article 3(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 that defines insects as farmed animals and therefore restricts their use in insect bioconversion for waste treatment. This is because catering waste cannot be fed to farmed animals. This position is set out in Defra’s animal by-products policy guidance: Supplying and using animal by-products as farm animal feed - GOV.UK.

We are committed to ending the throwaway society, boosting recycling rates which have stalled for too long, and driving growth through the Government’s Plan for Change. There are no current plans to review regulations that restrict insects from being used to process organic waste streams. Our waste management regulations also play a crucial role in protecting UK biosecurity and reducing the risk of disease.

Defra commissioned a Life Cycle Assessment to assess the sustainability of insect protein compared to other animal feeds. This research also considered the use of food waste as a substrate for the insect larvae, although not the extent to which this would contribute to food waste diversion from landfill.

Black soldier fly is in scope of the animal by-products (ABP) regulations as a farmed animal when reared for food or feed production, or when deceased. It then becomes Category 3 ABP, which is defined as low-risk material, provided it came from healthy animals. Controls are required for the prohibition on feeding catering waste to farmed animals as well as handling, processing, and permitted uses of Cat 3 material.

Other than a site visit to the Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest, hosted by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) in July 2025 and attended by officials from Defra, Natural England, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, EDC has made no communication to the Department since 4 July 2024.

The Government has not made an assessment of the annual number of insects killed in England by wind turbines, nor on the sustainability of insect populations accordingly.

International research estimates that individual turbines in temperate regions may kill millions of insects per year. However, to understand the impacts of wind turbines on the sustainability of insect populations, it is necessary to evaluate them in the context of other pressures. Factors operating at larger scales likely have a greater overall impact, e.g. land management and pesticide use.

The Natural Environment Research Council is funding the DRUID project to understand the drivers and repercussions of UK insect declines.

Defra’s bluetongue disease control measures aim to limit the spread of BTV infection through proportionate and evidence-based control measures, whilst balancing the burdens of controls against the benefits of slowing the spread of bluetongue and minimising the cost of any outbreak both to Government and farmers.

Vector control is not an effective control measure and vaccination remains the most effective long-term approach for reducing the impacts of bluetongue disease throughout the UK. Defra has permitted the use of vaccines for BTV-3 and these vaccines are now widely available for vets to prescribe in England.

The Government conducts annual targeted surveillance for BTV. This is designed to detect new serotypes of bluetongue virus, including BTV-12 that may be circulating. The annual surveillance uses diagnostic testing protocols at the bluetongue national reference laboratory, The Pirbright Institute, that can detect and differentiate between different serotypes of bluetongue virus including BTV-12.

Defra’s scientific research is exploring ways to reduce environmental impacts of livestock production, including research to better understand the role of insect protein in pig and poultry feed (not human diets) in addressing this aim. Examples include a scientific review of the opportunities for the inclusion of insect protein in pig and poultry feed within the UK (2021). Research also considered insect-based proteins (for food and feed), as part of a wider review of alternative proteins (2022). A life-cycle assessment of UK insect protein production compared the environmental impacts of insect, soy and fishmeal protein production for animal feeds in the UK (2023).

Defra has also committed funding via the Farming Innovation Programme and Farming Innovation Pathways for projects looking at insect protein in animal feed, including a themed competition addressing on farm protein.

The FSA report on the ‘The Future of Animal Feed’ was published in April 2023. The report analysed the production and supply of protein for the global livestock sector, focusing on the potential opportunities, and threats, of alternative feeds.

Under food law, it is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure food is safe. Edible insects, as novel foods, need authorisation from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS), which requires provision of a safety case. Food businesses wanting an authorisation will develop the research and evidence to demonstrate the food is safe for consumption.

Defra has not produced a specific impact assessment regarding service frequency for residual waste collections. Modelling for this would be subjective to the circumstances of each individual local authority.

Through Simpler Recycling, all householders will receive a comprehensive and consistent set of waste and recycling services. This will enable householders to recycle as much waste as possible and to frequently dispose of bad-smelling food waste, which will be collected from all households at least weekly.

Defra recognises that as recycling services are expanded and improved, local authorities may want to review residual waste services to ensure they are providing best value for money in line with local need. The government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now. Building on existing and new legal duties, Defra has published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained.

Defra does not have a specific policy on insects in the human diet, but continues to monitor the research in this area. In Great Britain, edible insects are considered novel foods. Novel foods require authorisation before they are permitted on the market. As part of the transition in leaving the EU, the following products can continue to be sold whilst they go through the British novel foods authorisation process run by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS):

• Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor)
• House cricket (Acheta domesticus)
• Banded cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus)
• Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens)

Where the above are present, they would need to be included in labelling just like any other ingredient. No other insects can currently be sold for human consumption in Britain at present.

Defra is currently undertaking research on the insect bioconversion industry, including a life-cycle assessment to better understand the environmental impacts of using insect protein in pig and poultry feeds.

The Food Standards’ Authority’s (FSA) role, as set out in law, is to safeguard public health and protect the interests of consumers in relation to food. In Great Britain, edible insects are considered novel foods and so food businesses that wish to sell them need to submit an application for a safety assessment by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland, before they can be placed on the market.

The FSA is in regular contact with companies submitting applications for the use of edible insects in or as food.

In 2021, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned an online survey to understand consumer awareness and perceptions of alternative sources of protein, including edible insects. 50% of respondents perceived edible insects as safe to eat, 26% were willing to try edible insects, and 37% were willing to try edible insects if they were ground into food for added protein. A full report of the survey is available on the FSA website at the following link:

https://www.food.gov.uk/research/behaviour-and-perception/survey-of-consumer-perceptions-of-alternative-or-novel-sources-of-protein

In Great Britain, edible insects are considered novel foods and so food businesses that wish to sell them need to submit an application for a safety assessment by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland, before they can be placed on the market. There are, however, transitional arrangements in place for four species following our exit from the European Union, those being: the yellow mealworm; the house cricket; the banded cricket; and the black soldier fly. These species can remain on sale until a decision on each application is made. Information on these arrangements is available on the FSA website at the following link:

https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/edible-insects-guidance

The FSA is in regular contact with companies submitting applications for the use of edible insects in or as food.

We publish several indicators of invertebrate abundance every year. Generally, the population trends of our native insect species show a mixed picture which varies between species and habitats. For example, the indicator for the overall abundance of butterflies in England has shown little or no change between 1976 and 2022 and while the index for farmland species has remained stable the abundance of woodland butterflies has declined steeply since 1990.

Insect decline is driven by various factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, introduction of new species and diseases, light pollution, pesticides and other aspects of agricultural intensification. It is difficult to attribute specific drivers to individual declines in insect species. However, land use change and habitat loss are likely to be the main contributors to insect decline within the UK.

Insects underpin food webs in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems so, alongside other factors such as habitat loss, changes in insect populations are likely to be contributing to declines in insectivorous species including bats, birds and amphibians.

This Government has set out its intention to deliver for nature, taking action to meet our Environment Act targets, and working in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world. For example, the Government will change existing policies to prevent the use of deadly neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten bees.

To inform delivery of the targets, Natural England’s ‘Threatened Species Recovery Actions’ project has already identified the targeted actions needed to for the conservation and recovery of 240 insect species. Assessment of a further 300 insect species is underway. Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme is key to delivering many of these recovery actions. Example projects include creating flight corridors and increasing food plants for the pearl bordered fritillary butterfly, woodland enhancement for the grizzled skipper butterfly and the reintroduction of one of our rarest grasshoppers, the large marsh grasshopper.

Additionally, we will change existing policies to prevent the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten our vital pollinators.

Defra is committed to launching a consultation this summer on proposed changes to the livestock feed controls. These will include a proposal to allow insect processed protein in poultry and pig feed.