Consumers’ Acceptability and Perception of Edible Insects as an Emerging Protein Source

Abstract

In recent years in Western Europe, studies on entomophagy have drawn the attention of many researchers interested in identifying parameters that could improve the acceptability of insect consumption in order to introduce insects as a sustainable source of protein into the future diet. Analysing the factors involved in consumer acceptability in the Mediterranean area could help to improve their future acceptance. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an ad-hoc questionnaire in which 1034 consumers participated. The questionnaire responses allowed us to study the areas relevant to acceptance: neophobia, social norms, familiarity, experiences of consumption and knowledge of benefits. Only 13.15% of participants had tried insects. Disgust, lack of custom and food safety were the main reasons for avoiding insect consumption. Consequently, preparations with an appetising appearance need to be offered, with flours being the most accepted format. The 40–59-year-old age group was the one most willing to consume them. To introduce edible insects as food in the future, it is important to inform people about their health, environmental and economic benefits because that could increase their willingness to include them in their diet.

Breaking the Taboo: Understanding the Relationship between Perception, Beliefs, Willingness to Eat Insects, and Food Neophobia among Polish Adults

“…There can be social stigma associated with eating insects, leading to concerns about being judged or ostracized by others. Beliefs about social acceptance and peer influence play a role in shaping attitudes toward insect consumption [ 22 , 40 , 41 ]. As revealed by factor analysis, the findings of our study on beliefs associated with eating insects align with previous research highlighting the influence of food neophobia on consumer perceptions of insect-based foods.…”

Exploring Locust Consumption Acceptance Factors among Pakistani University Students: Insights for Sustainable Food Adoption

“…The questionnaire used in this survey consists of seven parts, the first part is the demographic information, the second is the questions related to Disgust, the third part is the questions related to the doubts about safety, and the fourth part related to cultural reasons, the fifth part consist of questions related to lack of knowledge, the sixth part related to environment-friendly consumption and seventh and last one consists of questions related to religious permissibility. The questionnaire had a total of 29 items adopted from Ros- Baró et al (2022), which was modified further and consisted of 4 questions on Disgust, 4 questions on doubts about safety, 4 questions on cultural reasons, 4 questions on lack of knowledge, 4 questions on environment-friendly consumption, and 4 questions on religious permissibility. Second, the 5-point Likert scale type was used to administer every question.…”

La introducción de las harinas de insectos como suplemento en la ración en rumiantes: una estrategia a adoptar a corto plazo ante la escasez de materias primas

“…Una encuesta previa realizada en el marco del proyecto europeo PROteINSECT (2016) mostró que este rechazo disminuía significativamente cuando se consideraba su uso en la alimentación del ganado: el 73 % de los encuestados afirmó que estaría dispuesto a comer animales de granja que hubieran sido suplementados con harinas de insectos; casi dos tercios afirmaron que consideraban esta estrategia nutricional de poco o ningún riesgo para los consumidores (González Rosales, 2019), a lo que se unía el beneficio medioambiental y de bienestar animal, tal y como pudo constatar Sogari et al (2021) en Italia, sugiriendo a los responsables políticos y al sector privado que aumentase la concienciación de los consumidores al respecto. Este concepto se hace extensible a España, en base a los resultados obtenidos por Ros- Baró et al (2022).…”