The supply with edible insects and scorpions in Germany results of an internet-based survey

Only recently, insects were declared as novel food. However, a growing online market for these products has been developing before this step. The present work sought to survey and to describe the current German market by means of an internet search. When this search was carried out (July 2015), 131 different insect and scorpion products were offered by six providers. A total of twelve species (moreover Tenebrio molitor, Locusta migratoria and Acheta domesticus) and five unspecific groups (e. g. "crickets" and "scorpions") could be identified. Products were grouped. into "plain whole animals","lollipops" (with 31% each the most frequent type of product), "spiced whole animals" (23%), "animals in chocolate" (10%),"animals in alcoholic beverages" (4%) and "cookies with insect flour" (2%). While whole animals had generally been bred in Germany or the Netherlands, many sweets were imported from outside the EU. Prices varied strongly, not only within species and in relation with the provider (e.g. 9.50 to 47.96./100 (sic) lyophilized Tenebrio molitor), but also among species and products (from 6.44 (sic)/100g for cricket flour-containing cookies to 298.67 /100 (sic) chocolate-coated scorpions). While basic food declaration was followed by all providers, only two major providers included indications regarding allergens (i.e., 52% of products). Overall, the current German market for insects and scorpions varies strongly with regard to species and product types offered.