Eat Mealworm

A food-grade serving of roasted mealworms is offered with a dipping sauce at a market.

A mealworm is small enough to make the decision feel almost comic, right up to the moment it reaches your hand. The first bite is usually less dramatic than the anticipation: crisp, toasted and recognisably food once it has been properly prepared. Choose a packaged, food-grade yellow mealworm product sold for human consumption and read the full label. Start with a single prepared serving or a small amount used as an ingredient; never substitute pet feed, bait or wild-collected insects. Edible insects can trigger allergic reactions, particularly through cross-reaction with crustaceans, molluscs or dust mites. Do not try this if the label or your allergy history raises concern, avoid unverified products, follow storage and preparation instructions and seek medical advice where needed. Count it complete after deliberately tasting one correctly labelled, food-grade mealworm product. Add it if you enjoy testing the boundary between unfamiliar and unpleasant—and discovering how quickly that boundary can move after one careful bite.

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