Cicadas are edible, but you may be allergic

SANDUSKY — Thinking of piling some crunchy, tasty cicadas on your dinner plate? The Food and Drug Administration warns that people who are allergic to seafood probably should think again. "Don't eat cicadas if you're allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters," the FDA stated in a Tweet on June 2. The FDA announcement included a link for more information, but the link only referenced a page with general information about food allergies. Cicadas have been in the news lately because a new batch of them, Brood X, have been emerging this year as part of a 17-year cycle. Warning that eating bugs may not be healthy for everyone may seem to strike some readers as an unnecessary public service announcement, but many news accounts suggest that cicadas are being served to gourmets with a taste for adventure. A June 3 article in the New York Times explains, "Some prefer them deep-fried and others like them tossed into their Caesar salad. Bun Lai, the chef of a sustainable sushi restaurant in Connecticut, will present them in a fine-dining experience at his farm. And Frank's RedHot, the 100-year-old hot sauce brand, released a string of cicada recipes including caramel 'cada corn, chili lime 'cada tacos and a cicada 'parm' slider." It's possible that Sandusky cooks may have to leave the area to gather the main ingredient for their feast. The Register wrote recently to Gene Kritsky, a biology professor at Mount Saint Joseph University in Cincinnati, and the editor of American Entomology. Cicada fans can read his new book, "Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition." The Register asked Professor Kritsky if Brood X cicadas can be found in the Sandusky area. "Erie County does not have any record of Brood X cicadas, so we are not expecting cicadas in your area," he replied in an email. Serving cicadas in restaurants can involve food safety regulations. The Loudoun Times-Mirror reported on June 2 that a restaurant in Leesburg, Virginia, was forced to stop serving cicada tacos by the Loudoun County Health Department until it could be proved the cicadas came from an approved food source. The Cocina on Market restaurant was allowed to resume serving the cicada tacos after it found an approved online source for the cicadas, the newspaper reported. Craig Ward, director of environmental health for the Erie County Health Department, said he is not aware of any restaurants in Sandusky serving cicadas. But he said that Ohio also requires that restaurants use approved food sources, so any local eatery serving cicadas would face similar rules. An approved food source means that an ingredient for a meal must come from a regulated supplier, Ward said. "You can't pick cicadas off your tree and go and cook them and serve them in your restaurant," Ward said. According to Kritksky's Cicadasafari.org website, only male cicadas sing. Cicadas do not sting or bite and they do not carry diseases. The New York Times, citing National Geographic, says cicadas are gluten-free, high in protein, low in fat and carbohydrates.