Nuts, seeds, and fruit are what you typically expect to find in a bag of trail mix. But a local company has added its own twist to the tasty snack - bugs.
Winnipeg-based Ecotone Foods is pushing to make one of Canada’s first edible insect products.
Nick Hiebert is the founder of Ecotone Foods. He created Roasted Insect Snack Mix, new trail mix that combines nuts, fruit, and seeds, with crickets, mealworms, and superworms.
"We chose the trail mix because it gives us the opportunity to leave the insects whole and allow the consumer to see what they're consuming," said Hiebert.
The startup company is still in its early stages, working to secure funding.
The crickets, mealworms, and superworms come from an Ontario-based company, the first to sell bugs for human food in North America.
Next Millennium Foods harvests the insects and worms, and rinses them in warm water so they're safe to eat. "And then they’re essentially roasted at 270 degrees for about 1.5 to two hours, which is enough heat to kill any potential bacteria and pathogens,” said co-founder Ryan Goldin.
So, whether you pick up cranberry, blueberry, or cherry, Nick Hiebert says this is the food of the future. "If the UN is right about their projections, in terms of population growth and the increasing demand for food, the switch to insects is actually inevitable."
Hiebert says he expects the product to be on store shelves by May 2014. A 100 g bag will cost you $6.
