Silkworm Pupae as Food: What Is Actually In Them

The By-Product That Is a Food

Silkworm pupae make up roughly 60% of the weight of a cocoon. Reeling silk leaves them behind in enormous quantity, and across much of Asia they are not waste — they are eaten.

The Nutrition

• High in protein, containing 18 amino acids, eight of which are essential for humans.
• Fat that is mainly unsaturated.
• A source of minerals and vitamins.
• Around 230 kcal per 100 g.

That is a genuinely dense food, and it comes from a stream the silk industry generates whether anyone eats it or not.

Where They Are Eaten

Silkworm pupae are eaten in China, Japan, Korea and India, most famously as Korean beondegi, sold from street stalls and in tins. In China they are also used in traditional medicine, including for hypertension and fatty liver.

The Caveat Worth Stating

Silkworm pupae are a recognised allergen. Research on their food use covers allergenic properties alongside the nutritional ones, and anyone with existing insect or shellfish allergies has an obvious reason for caution. This is a food with a long history of use and a real allergy profile — both are true.

Why It Matters to the Wider Argument

Insect protein is usually discussed as a future proposition. Silkworm pupae are the counterexample: a high-protein insect food already produced at industrial scale, already eaten by millions, generated as a by-product of a textile that has been made for thousands of years. The infrastructure is not hypothetical. It exists because of silk.

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