Latin America has an old tradition of entomophagy and is currently the second largest market for edible insects in the world. However, the number of start-ups producing edible insects is still very low, when compared to Europe and North America. This review analyses the potential of farming and processing edible insects in Latin America using the systemic competitiveness approach in order to list the main opportunities and challenges for the development of the sector in the region. First, the meta level appears diffuse since there are no clear regional or national strategies towards the development of an insect-based food industry, and despite the tradition of entomophagy, the majority of the urbanised population have a bias against insects. However, there is a huge potential related to reviving the traditional knowledge. The macro level is characterised by a lack of local and international regulation on food safety, production and commercialisation, but there is an opportunity related to the reformed Novel Food Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2283) that may ease the exports to the European market. In the meso level, although investment and funding of insect-based start-ups are increasing internationally, a lack of research and training institutions is noticeable in the region. Finally, the main constraints identified in the micro level are the high prices of edible insects due to an existing disrupted supply chain and the lack of technology to mass produce insects, while the main opportunity is to develop innovative products based on the traditionally-known organoleptic and functional properties of insects. Indisputably, more efforts must be done in Latin America to take a leadership in the world, boosting the local framework for producing edible insects and promoting entopreneurship. These efforts should be coordinated among all stakeholders involved in the different systemic levels: entrepreneurs, research institutions, government and the society.

中文翻译：

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拉丁美洲可食用昆虫食品工业发展的挑战与机遇

拉丁美洲具有古老的昆虫学传统，目前是世界上第二大食用昆虫市场。但是，与欧洲和北美相比，生产食用昆虫的初创企业的数量仍然很少。这篇综述使用系统竞争力方法分析了拉丁美洲耕作和加工食用昆虫的潜力，以便列出该地区该部门发展的主要机遇和挑战。首先，由于没有明确的区域或国家战略来发展以昆虫为基础的食品工业，因此元数据水平似乎是分散的，尽管有昆虫吞噬的传统，但大多数城市化人口对昆虫有偏见。但是，与复兴传统知识有关的巨大潜力。宏观层面的特点是缺乏有关食品安全，生产和商业化的本地和国际法规，但与改革后的新食品法规（法规（EU）第2015/2283号）相关的机会可能会缓解对食品的出口。欧洲市场。在中观水平上，尽管国际上以昆虫为基础的初创企业的投资和资金在增加，但该地区仍缺乏研究和培训机构。最后，从微观上确定的主要制约因素是由于现有供应链中断而导致食用昆虫的高价格，以及缺乏大规模生产昆虫的技术，而主要机会是在传统上众所周知的感官上开发创新产品。和昆虫的功能特性。毫无疑问，在拉丁美洲，必须做更多的努力来领导世界，加强当地生产食用昆虫的框架并促进企业家精神。这些努力应在涉及不同系统级别的所有利益相关者之间进行协调：企业家，研究机构，政府和社会。