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It may be hard to imagine choosing a mealworm burger over a juicy steak in a restaurant.

But a team of scientists insist a Quorn-like product made from mealworm protein, tastes good and is a rich source of protein.

The food, named C-fu, has primarily been designed to help feed the world's growing population, which is set to top nine billion by 2050, but its makers believe it could also catch on as a health food.

A team of scientists have created a Quorn-like product made from mealworm protein (pictured), which they say tastes good and is a rich source of protein, so it could be a hit with shoppers

Students from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and the Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada, created the 'bug meat,' composed of mealworms.

They developed a technique to isolate the protein from worms and restructure it, to make more appetising C-fu cubes, which resemble blocks of tofu.

It takes 10,000 mealworms to make one pound of C-fu, but the students say that the end product has more protein than tofu and is pound-for-pound more protein-rich than an egg.

The food also contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are associated with lowering the risk of heart disease, making it a healthier alternative to meat.

The food, named C-fu, shown here as the filling of an empanada, has been designed to help feed the world's growing population, which is set to top nine billion by 2050

It takes 10,000 mealworms (stock image) to make one pound of C-fu, but the students say that the end product has more protein than tofu and is pound-for-pound more protein rich than an egg

'C-fu is dense nutrition that will help alleviate global hunger and nutrient deficiencies while providing livelihoods for microfarmers and processors,' the students wrote as part of their entry to the Thought For Food Challenge.

Ten finalists were announced, which will compete for $10,000 (£6,625) of seed funding to bring their hunger-beating products to market at a conference next month.

Since September 2014, student teams from over 300 universities in 51 countries have been competing to develop concepts to alleviate hunger across the world.

It's hoped that insect-based foods will play a key role, because they are easier and less energy-intensive to farm than livestock such as cows.

Traditional meat production causes multiple sustainability issues, including large greenhouse gas emissions, while insects on the other hand, are very efficient consumers of resources.

The team says that C-fu has less impact on the environment than meat, because insects use less land, consume less food and emit less greenhouse gases.

It estimates that an area the size of Rhode Island – 1,122 square miles (3,140 square km) used to farm mealworms, – would feed two billion people.

The team hopes that its insect-sourced food will be acceptable to consumers because of its bland appearance and have shared recipes such as C-fu empanadas in blog posts.

New company says insects will be the world's future source of...

C-fu contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are associated with lowering the risk of heart disease, making it a healthier alternative to meat. The mealworm-based cubes are shown here as part of a salad

'C-fu products will enter markets, groceries, and restaurants, increasing demand for insect foods and encouraging microfarmers worldwide,' they predict.

'Demand for insects as raw materials in new products will enable insect commodity markets to thrive and create a whole new food sector and jobs.'

Scientists predict that the world's agricultural output needs to increase by 70 per cent to feed everyone in 2050.

One third of the global population, or two billion people, already eat insects as a regular part of their diet.

Thailand, for example already has 20,000 small scale insect farms rearing over 7,500 tonnes of grasshoppers, crickets and other edible insects a year.

Insects are nutritious because they are high in essential fatty acids, calcium, zinc, iron and B12.

Gram for gram crickets, for example, have comparable levels of protein compared to beef half the calories and about 60 per cent less fat and fans of the food, describe the insects as 'nutty'.

INSECT-EATING IS THE LATEST CULINARY TREND IN THE UK 

Mexican restaurant chain, Wahaca, has served insects as an alternative source of protein since  2013 and its grasshopper dish (shown) is popular

More British restaurants and supermarkets are choosing to supply insects like crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms.

They have been a traditional Mexican food since the time of the Aztecs and are consumed in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca, which was co-founded in 2007 by Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers, started to introduce the alternate protein source to diners in 2013.

In January, it brought back chapulines fundido to the menu, made with one of Mexico's most sustainably farmed, yet unusual ingredients - grasshoppers.

Chefs cook the fried chapulines (grashoppers) with softened shallots, garlic and smoky chipotle chillies to create a salsa, which is served with queso fundido, a mixture of grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese and a side of corn tortillas - and stocks are running low.

Archipelago restaurant in Cleveland Street has love bug salads, bushmans's caviar (caramel mealworms, blinis, coconut cream and vodka jelly) and a dessert called Medieval Hive (brown butter ice-cream, honey and butter caramel sauce and a baby bee) on the menu.

Grub, an insect emporium in London, sells insect starter packs of mealworms, crickets, buffalo worms and grasshoppers on sale alongside their cricket nut fudge.

The company is now supplying insects to Planet Organic, the UK's largest fully-certified organic supermarket.

British wine merchants Laithwaite's last year created the world's first insect and wine matching guide, to match Chardonnay to tarantulas, sparkling rose to barbecued locusts, sherry to giant waterbugs and Shiraz to sago worms.