Flour and oils made from fruit flies could represent the future of insect-based nutrition, according to Israeli start-up Flying Spark.

The insects are similar in nutritional value and flavour profile to mealworms and crickets, which have become popular ingredient solutions for product developers in this space. However, the fruit-fly larvae is cheaper to farm and process than these more established insect proteins.

Produced without the use of hormones, antibiotics or pesticides, fruit-fly larvae are cholesterol-free and high in healthy amino acids. Thanks to their short gestation period, they also have a low carbon impact.

Flying Spark manufactures fruit-fly powders for use in sweet or savoury bakery and sports nutrition products, as well as consumer-facing oils marketed as a high-end rival to olive oil. In addition, the whole, unprocessed larvae can be used as a substitute for minced meat in nuggets and burgers.

The powders have received interest from several markets, including North America, Asia and the Middle East. Flying Spark is also part of a lobby for workable and consistent rules for producing and marketing insect products for the EU marketplace.

For further insight into the development of sustainable food and nutrition sources, read Feeding Tomorrow's Consumers, part of our New Food Frontiers Industry Trend. We also look into the food-scarcity challenge and the dawn of new and exciting ingredients in Reframing Rare and Extreme Ingredients.

For other insect-based dining initiatives, check out Wine & Insect Pairing Menu, Culinary Crickets for Mass Consumption and Utensils for Eating Insects.