Cricket Farming in the UK: FSA Authorization and Post-Brexit Regulations

The UK Food Standards Agency authorized Acheta domesticus as a novel food in 2023, enabling legal retail sale in the UK for the first time. That authorization marks a notable shift, before it, cricket flour occupied a legal grey area in Great Britain, which diverged from EU novel food rules after Brexit. Now there's a clear pathway, and the UK market is open for business.

Here's what you need to know about the UK regulatory framework and market for cricket farming.

TL;DR

• The UK Food Standards Agency authorized Acheta domesticus as a novel food in 2023, enabling legal retail sale in the UK for the first time.
• When the UK left the EU, it diverged from EU Novel Food Regulation 2015/2283 -- the UK now has its own independent novel food approval pathway.
• The FSA authorized whole dried Acheta domesticus and partially defatted Acheta domesticus powder in 2023.
• The FSA novel food application process involves a safety assessment and takes 18-24 months.
• Cricket farming premises must comply with the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 and be registered with your local authority environmental health department at least 28 days before starting food production.
• England's climate requires facility heating to maintain the 85-90°F target for cricket production -- heating costs are a significant operating expense outside the summer months.

Post-Brexit Regulatory Context

When the UK left the EU, it also diverged from the EU Novel Food Regulation (EU 2015/2283), which had authorized Acheta domesticus for EU sale in 2021. Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) developed its own novel food authorization process through the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

Northern Ireland operates under a different framework under the Windsor Framework, maintaining alignment with EU food law in certain respects. If you're producing in Northern Ireland or selling there, verify the current applicable rules with FSA Northern Ireland.

FSA Novel Food Authorization for Cricket

The FSA authorized whole dried Acheta domesticus (house cricket) and partially defatted Acheta domesticus powder as novel foods for the UK market in 2023. This authorization covers:

• Sale as a food ingredient in retail and food service
• Use in processed food products (protein bars, flour blends, etc.)
• Labeling requirements specifying that the product contains crickets and declaring cross-reactivity with crustacean shellfish and dust mite allergens

The authorization is species-specific. Acheta domesticus is covered; other cricket species may require separate novel food applications.

For producers wanting to sell other insect species or insect products not covered by current authorizations, a novel food application to the FSA is required. The FSA's novel food application process involves a safety assessment and can take 18-24 months.

Setting Up a Cricket Farm in the UK

Business registration and premises: Standard UK business registration applies (Companies House for limited companies). Your cricket farming premises need to comply with the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 (as amended) and be registered with your local authority environmental health department at least 28 days before commencing food production.

Food business operator registration: Any food business in the UK must be registered with the local authority. For processing facilities, approval (beyond registration) may be required depending on the activities involved.

FSA compliance: As a food business, you're subject to UK food safety law, including the requirement for documented food safety management based on HACCP principles. The UK's approach to food safety management post-Brexit mirrors EU requirements closely.

Environmental permits: Depending on your scale and the waste management aspects of cricket farming, Environment Agency (EA) permits may apply in England, or equivalent Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) or Natural Resources Wales requirements.

UK Climate Management

The UK climate presents manageable challenges for cricket farming. The maritime climate means mild winters by continental European standards, but the damp conditions require active humidity management.

Key points:

• Winter temperatures: Most of England stays above freezing most of the time, but building heating is still required to maintain 85-90°F for cricket production. Well-insulated buildings with efficient heating systems can manage winter costs reasonably.
• Summer temperatures: The UK's cool summers rarely push temperatures into heat stress range for crickets, which is an advantage over continental European and North American climates.
• Humidity: UK humidity is moderate to high year-round, particularly in western and northern areas. Dehumidification systems are typically needed to maintain optimal bin humidity without reaching the range where fungal disease becomes problematic.

UK Insect Protein Market

The UK insect protein market has grown steadily since the FSA authorization. Key market dynamics:

• Retail presence in major supermarket chains (Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and independents) has expanded since 2023
• Food service interest is strongest in London's restaurant and hospitality sector
• Pet food is a large and growing application for insect protein, a different regulatory track with its own authorization requirements
• Export to the EU is complicated by Brexit trade requirements and requires compliance with EU novel food rules as a third-country importer

See cricket farm management for the production management framework, and cricket flour FDA compliance overview for comparison with US regulatory requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I legally sell cricket flour in the UK?

Yes, for Acheta domesticus. The UK Food Standards Agency authorized whole dried house cricket and partially defatted house cricket powder as novel foods in 2023. Producers must comply with UK food safety law, register their food business with the local authority, and label products in accordance with FSA requirements, including allergen declarations for crustacean shellfish and dust mite cross-reactivity. Other cricket species not covered by current authorizations require a separate novel food application to the FSA before they can be sold.

What does the UK FSA require for a cricket flour authorization?

For Acheta domesticus, the authorization already exists, you don't need individual authorization to produce it. You do need to: register your food business with your local authority, comply with UK food hygiene regulations and HACCP-based food safety management, and label products with the required allergen declarations. If you want to produce or sell a species not currently authorized, you'd submit a novel food application to the FSA, which involves a safety dossier and review process taking approximately 18-24 months.

What is the UK market size for cricket protein?

The UK insect protein market was estimated at £15-25 million in 2025, growing approximately 20-30% annually since the 2023 FSA authorization opened retail channels. The London premium food market is the most developed consumer channel. UK producers also supply food manufacturers incorporating cricket flour into protein bars, baked goods, and pasta products. Export opportunity to the EU is available but requires working through EU novel food import rules for third-country products.

How does CricketOps help track the metrics described in this article?

CricketOps provides bin-level logging for the variables that drive production outcomes -- feed inputs, environmental conditions, mortality events, and harvest results. Rather than maintaining these records in separate spreadsheets, you can view performance trends across bins and over time to identify which operational variables correlate with better outcomes in your specific facility.

Where can I find industry benchmarks to compare my operation's performance?

The North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA) publishes periodic industry reports with production benchmarks. University extension programs in agricultural states, including the University of Georgia and University of Florida IFAS, occasionally publish insect farming production data. Industry conferences hosted by the Entomological Society of America and the Insects to Feed the World symposium series are additional sources of peer benchmarking data.

What is the biggest operational mistake cricket farmers make in their first year?

Expanding bin count before achieving consistent FCR and mortality targets in existing bins is the most common and costly first-year mistake. At 5-10 bins, problems are manageable. At 30-50 bins, the same proportional problems represent much larger financial losses. Most experienced cricket farmers recommend holding expansion until you have three consecutive production cycles hitting your FCR and mortality targets.

Sources

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -- Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security
• North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA)
• Entomological Society of America
• University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
• Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (Wageningen Academic Publishers)

Get Started with CricketOps

The practices covered in this article are easier to apply consistently when they are supported by organized production data. CricketOps gives cricket farmers the tools to track what matters -- by bin, by batch, and over time. Start your next production cycle in CricketOps and see how organized data changes the way you manage your operation.