New Brownie Mix Won’t Claim “Free From Insects”

Time was, finding an insect in a bake mix might provide grounds for a lawsuit. So, while the world spends gobs of money – $65 billion by 2017 – on pesticides to rid the planet of bugs, it is remarkable that a small Oregon company is deliberately turning insects into baking ingredients. The name of the company, Cricket Flours, gives a pretty good idea of the business model. Founded just two years ago, the company is developing a brownie mix using protein-rich, sustainably produced crickets, raised in North America specifically for people to eat. The brownie mix contains a dozen of the milled bugs, plus organic gluten-free flour and organic Peruvian cocoa powder. The founders say their mix has less sugar, fewer calories, and twice the protein of bug-free brownie mixes.