A post circulating on X and TikTok claims that a dairy alternative called Entomilk made from the maggot larvae of black soldier flies is currently being produced across “many nations.” An accompanying video further depicts insects being ground up with water and other additives to produce a creamy liquid.
Is Entomilk actually an existing product?
Our search for the original video found that it dates back to September 2018 – from a video published by 60 Second Docs, a YouTube Channel that produces short-form documentary about various human-interest topics.
We then looked up “Entomilk” and found articles from 2018 and 2019 describing it as a product from a South Africa-based start-up, Gourmet Grubb. According to these articles, Gourmet Grubb did specifically use the larvae black soldier flies to produce a dairy alternative. The company focused on using Entomilk to make ice cream and was working towards the insect-based dairy alternative gaining traction as a sustainable food product.
However, we were unable easily access the company’s official website. Links to the site (from previous news coverage led to an error screen, and their social media accounts do not appear to have been updated since June 2020 – suggesting that Gourmet Grubb is no longer active. A search for the company’s information on public databases further indicates that it has been out of business since before 2023.
Using a web archive tool, we managed to access snapshots of the now-defunct Gourmet Grubb website, which provided detailed information about the company’s offerings. According to the site, the ice cream made from Entomilk appears to only have been available within South Africa on a relatively small scale.
Although the claim posts circulating imply that Entomilk is currently being produced in various global markets, it was actually part of a start-up business venture that was available only in South Africa between 2018 to 2020 before ceasing operations. It is not currently available to purchase anywhere. And, while insect-based dairy alternatives exist and have been the subject of research and experimentation for over a decade, there does not appear to be any commercially available products on the market to date.
Therefore, while it is true that Entomilk was made from the larvae of black soldier flies, the claim posts misrepresent the video and omit the key fact that it is no longer being made or sold – neither in South Africa nor “in many nations” as claimed. We give this a rating of mostly false.
With insect proteins being the subject of heated discussion, claims such as this leverage existing feelings of suspicions or disgust to gain views and generate outrage – while also spreading disinformation widely. This has the knock-on effect of shaping and influencing consumer’s sentiments and decision-making. These claims are also often linked to broader food-based conspiracies (some covered by BDR previously) and wild theories about nefarious forces controlling the global food supply.
In Singapore, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approved 16 insect species for consumption last year, which clears the way for the introduction of insect-based food products into the local market. In this context, it is important to be aware of claims that seek to influence how we perceive insect-based products – researching further so as to make the most informed decisions about our food choices.
