Author: annaj

We have been active doing several oral presentations during the past months! The 12:th of March Anna had a presentation at RISE (RISE Research Institutes of Sweden) and in March 26 also in a panel discussion at the Nobel museum in Stockholm. This discussion is available in a Podd version (in Swedish, “Allt du velat veta”). The 26:th of April some pupils from a Swedish gymnasium on the west coats visited us! Ambitious guys who had won a price for their gymnasium thesis!

Kocken Paul Svensson och hans team har tagit fram två läckra dessertalternativ som kan passa till nyår!

Chef Paul Svensson and his team have produce two awesome desserts that could fit on the new year menu!

Anna J will have a presentation at an international conference in Vientiane, Lao PDR (17-19 December). The conference is entitled “Improving food security and income generation in Lower Mekong Basin through sustainable farming systems under climate change”  and is supported by Swedish SIDA, SLU and also by local organisations. Her talk is entitled “Entomophagy – is it of relevance also for Europe?” For questions about the conference please contact daovyk@yahoo.com

Ida Waern at the department of anatomy, physiology and biochemistry (AFB at SLU) got 3 millions in fundning from Formas! The project is called “Insects as new food – new cases of allergy?” (Framtidens mat insekter – finns det allergirisker?) and will be performed in collaboration with researchers from AFB (Sara Wernersson and Anna Jansson), Uppsala university hospital (Akademiska sjukhuset) and Thermo fisher (Magnus Borres among others).

 

 

Xavier Fernandez‐Cassi and Alexandru  Supeanu (both on a EFSA fellowship at SLU) did a great job working on a  report while being at SLU: “Novel foods: a risk profile for the house cricket (Acheta domesticus)”. (Fernandez‐Cassi X,  Supenu A,  Jansson A,  Boqvist S and  Vagsholm I. 2018.  EFSA Journal 16.) https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.e16082

We had two contributions to the conference this summer; “Evaluation of reusable hiding units for rearing house crickets” (M. Vaga, E. Gustafsson, A. Jansson) and also “Morphology and localization of carbonic anhydrase in the digestive tract of the house cricket” (L. Holm, E. Thorsson, A. Jansson). The latter abstract was based on the work by veterinary student Elina Thorsson and her master Thesis (to be found here: https://slub-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=SLUB_EPSILON_STUD13415&context=L&vid=SLUB_V1&search_scope=default_scope&tab=default_tab&lang=sv_SE).

The project has been subject to a lot of media attention during this autumn! First a journalist from “Universitetsläraren” was here and then also Swedish Televison and UNT (Uppsala Nya tidning)!

A French veterinary student did his internship with us this summer! He participated in a study on sodium intake in the house cricket.

We have just recently published a paper in EFSA Journal (vol 16, 2018) entitled: “Novel foods: a risk profile for the house cricket (Acheta domesticus)”

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.e16082

We are looking for a master student that would like to work within the topic: Swedish consumers’ perception and ethical reflection regarding insects as food. Contact supervisor Helena Röcklinsberg (Helena.Rocklinsberg@slu.se)

https://www.slu.se/institutioner/husdjurens-miljo-halsa/utbildning/examensarbete-vid-var-institution/exempel-pa-examensarbeten-och-handledare/examensarbete-swedish-consumers/

Swedish consumers’ perception and ethical reflection regarding insects as food

Supervisor: Helena Röcklinsberg (Project leader: Anna Jansson, AFB)

Insects are consumed in many parts of the world, but are rather part of a new cuisine in Sweden and northern Europe. In contrast to many European countries it is not allowed to produce food based on insects in Sweden. However, legal changes may lie ahead and within the Formas project “Eating crickets – an appetizing solution for today’s global problems” we are interested in investigating Swedish consumers’ ethical arguments regarding consumption of traditional livestock vs insects and attitudes to the use of livestock to provide ecosystem services. We envisage an interview study focussing on the following issues: How is eating insects perceived among Swedish consumers? Do they perceive a difference between eating insects as an ingredient (in e.g. a protein bar) or the whole insect (e.g.as a grilled snack)? What do meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans think respectively about eating insects? What arguments beyond taste and yack factor are used in approving or disapproving of farming insects for food – are informants referring to sustainability, biodiversity, climate or animal welfare? Are the same or other arguments used with regard to eating meat from ruminants, pigs and poultry?

Method: interviews with citizens/consumers, followed by a content analysis and ethical elaboration.

Time frame: Spring semester 2019 (earlier or later after agreement with supervisor)