How is Cricket Protein Flour Powder made?
How is Cricket Protein Flour Powder made?
The Cricket Hop Co. Cricket Protein Flour Powder is made/produced under strict HACCP guidelines: It is a 13 step process of: harvesting whole live crickets, freezing, washing under running water, inspection for foreign matter, washed in a salt bath 0.05%, boiling at 100oC for 3 minutes, draining for 10 minutes, drying at 80-90oC for 6 hours, inspection for foreign matters, grinding into powder, inspection for foreign matters, packing and storage.
To farm crickets you need to raise them from eggs. This usually takes from 5 to 6 weeks. The crickets are left to roam in their large containers which are kept under cover in a large controlled environment warehouse, they have a number of egg containers which they use to relax in. Each cricket has plenty of room. They have access to constant food and are sprayed 4 times a day with harvested and treated rainwater. At each stage of growth the cricket produce an exoskeleton which they shed every 5 days or so. After the 10th cycle of shedding their exoskeleton (at around 5 weeks) some of our crickets are kept for breeding, the rest have another week of feeding on Organic Cassava before they are deprived of food for 3 days to clear their intestinal tract.
The crickets are then processed. Some of the crickets are pressed after roasting to retract the oil. This oil is then refined and can be used for many different purposes. This allows the powder to be categorised into two forms, low fat and full fat. Pressing the oil makes for a longer shelf life. The product can therefore be kept in a cool dry place and last up to one year.
Each batch is then sent to the lab for rigorous testing in a controlled environment which meets international certification and is checked for toxins, most notably Salmonella, e-coli, microbial and coliform. It also undergoes a full nutritional composition breakdown so we can see the exact micronutrient content and insure our Cricket Flour Protein contains at least 74% protein content. We then hand pack the powder into individual packets and then prepare them for export.
Watch the video below to see our farm to table process!
You can buy Cricket Flour powder here on Amazon UK and learn more about it here - www.crickethop.com/home