The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul is facing up to a year in jail and a fine of roughly $13,510 after prosecutors alleged the restaurant served nearly 49,000 ants to diners over five years.
The case was reported by Fox News Digital. South Korea's Food Sanitation Act approves 10 insect species for human consumption, but ants are not among them. Grasshoppers, mealworms, silkworm pupae, locusts and two-spotted crickets are on the approved list. Ants are not.
South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety discovered the violation through customer social media posts and online reviews that mentioned ants appearing atop the restaurant's sorbets. Prosecutors allege the restaurant imported dried ants and used approximately 49,000 of them in dishes starting in 2021. They also allege those ants contained heavy metal levels up to 55 times the maximum limit allowed for other edible insects.
The restaurant owner, not identified in court documents, acknowledged that ants were served. Defense attorneys disputed the 49,000 figure. The defense argued that ants were offered only as an optional garnish for sorbet, and that only 60% of diners chose them over other options, which included fermented vinegar and edible flowers, according to The Chosun Daily.
A verdict is expected in September.
The case arrives as the global edible insect market is expanding. The market is estimated to grow from $1.73 billion in 2025 to $13.23 billion by 2034, driven by interest in sustainable nutrition, resource efficiency, and diversified protein sources, according to Fortune Business Insights. Beetles dominated the insect-based food market in 2025, accounting for 33% of market share, according to Persistence Market Research.
In the United States, several insect-based food products are already available to consumers. Chirps Chips are tortilla-style chips made with cricket flour. Other companies market cricket protein powders and snack bars. A small study by researchers at the University of Beira Interior in Portugal found that people exposed to insect-based foods were more curious and receptive to them than expected.
"It's exciting to see that consumers may be open to new abundant sources of nutrition," said Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.
The Seoul restaurant owner's legal outcome will be decided when the court renders its verdict in September.
