Saudis warned against eating locusts

Saudi Arabia’s authorities warned their people not to eat locusts as they could be poisonous after feeding on plants sprayed by insecticides, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The ministry of agriculture urged the Gulf country’s people to report any locust swarms to authorities as part of a campaign to destroy the insects to save crop, the papers said.

“You are urged not to collect and eat locusts because cooking them will make them even more poisonous,” the ministry said.

“Locusts are very dangerous to farms and any hesitation by the citizens to report them will only lead to a large increase in these inspects and consequently more harm to crops.”

During locust seasons, mainly in the first quarter of the year, Saudis hunt the insects to eat them either cooked or boiled and dried.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.