PUPILS from Hartford Manor Primary School have been bowled over by a Roberts Bakery’s new bread bloomer made from over 300 crickets.

Despite seeming like something more at home in a Bushtucker Trial on I'm A Celebrity, the Rudheath-based firm really is the first major UK baker to launch insect bread.

Each Crunchy Cricket Loaf contains around 336 crickets, which are dried, ground, mixed with wheat flour and grains and then baked to become tremendously tasty with a crunchy finish.

And pupils from the school’s year 5 class were amongst the first to try the limited-edition product after a visit from bakers.

“As well as the sustainability and environmental benefits of using insects, they are also seriously tasty and should not be overlooked as a great recipe ingredient,” said Roberts’ Head of Innovation Alison Ordonez.

“Our Cricket Loaf provides consumers with a good source of protein and an easy way to familiarise themselves with insect-based food.

“As the UK’s next generation bakery, we work tirelessly to stay at the forefront of food revolution and this first-in-the-UK product is yet another example of this.”

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Each Roberts’ Cricket Loaf contains more protein than standard bread and is packed with vitamins and fibre.

A recent study has also shown that crickets have five times the antioxidant power than fresh orange juice.

Neil Whippey, Co-Founder at Eat Grub which provides the insects, added: “It has been great to support Roberts in what appears to a UK bakery brand first.

“What a great way to introduce the joys and benefits of eating insects.”

The UN estimates that at least two billion people eat insects around the world, with many having eaten them traditionally for generations.

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And the nutritional benefits of them far outweighs the negative stigma around eating them, according to clinical nutritionist Adele Wolstenhulme.

“If you look through the lens of human evolution, insects were a daily staple and we are simply returning to our ancestral dietary roots,” she said.

“We need not feel sorry for celebs doing Bushtucker Trials in the jungle, as they are getting way more nutrition than the average person.”

Roberts’ first batch of Crunchy Cricket Loaf is limited to 100 loaves, and ten of these are up for grabs for lucky competition winners.

To enter, visit the Roberts Bakery Facebook page before midday on Thursday, December 5.