Edible Insects Acceptance by Belgian Consumers: Promising Attitude for Entomophagy Development

Abstract

Entomophagy is not well accepted in Western European populations but it is common in the world. In the future, populations from developed countries should adapt to other sources of animal proteins because traditional breeding of beef, poultry or pork will become unsustainable.This study was performed to assess the perception of entomophagy in the Belgian population. A slight neophobia was detected but people agreed to evaluate insect preparations. Various insect formulations (mealworms and house crickets) were prepared, and insects associated with known flavors and crispy textures were preferred. After a hedonic test, people seemed to be willing to eat and cook insects in the near future.The opportunity to introduce entomophagy in food habits of Western European populations was positively concluded. Integration of edible insects in human food is a potential solution to replace other animal protein sources in a much more sustainable development and will deserve more attention in the future. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThis study shows the edible insects' potential to become a usual food ingredient in Western European populations. Our results show that consumers are ready to buy and cook insects at home if they are able to associate them with familiar flavors. bs_bs_banner Journal of Sensory Studies

Comparison of volumetric and surface decontamination techniques for innovative processing of mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor)

“…And the treatment in a water bath for 10 or 15 min resulted in a reduction of three log cycles, respectively. This reduction was already observed after a short treatment time of 2.5 min but the results obtained cannot confirm that the preparation procedure performed in the context of acceptance studies of Belgian consumers where mealworms were boiled for 6.5 min (Megido et al, 2014) were sufficient for a safe consumption. Fig.…”

“…The inactivated samples were baked at 200°C for 7 min or boiled for 6.5 min. Baked mealworms were also spiced with vanilla or paprika or dunked in chocolate (Megido et al, 2014).…”

The psychology of eating insects: A cross-cultural comparison between Germany and China

“…Animal protein is an important dietary component not only for Western societies but also for many demographic groups all over the world. Interest in alternative protein sources of high nutritional value, such as edible insects, has increased remarkably in recent years (Caparros Looy, Dunkel, & Wood, 2014;Megido et al, 2014;Van Huis et al, 2013;Vanhonacker, Van Loo, Gellynck, & Verbeke, 2013). In fact, in varying degrees according to the species, metamorphic stage and feeding, some insects contain high value protein and essential amino acids, have a high vitamin and mineral content, have low cholesterol concentrations compared to some meat-based animal products and have favourable nÀ3/nÀ6 fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid ratios (Belluco et al, 2013;Verkerk, Tramper, van Trijp, & Martens, 2007).…”

How do we Optimize Message Matching Interventions? Identifying Matching Thresholds, and Simultaneously Matching to Multiple Characteristics

“…Specifically, we examine the effects of message matching on individuals' willingness to consume edible insects. Although edible insects are highly nutritious and more sustainable than many other food sources (Banjo, Lawal, & Songonuga, 2006;Oonincx et al, 2010;Ramos-Elorduy, 1997), entomophagy-the practice of eating insects-is not well accepted in the Western world (Caparros Megido et al, 2014;Looy, Dunkel, & Wood, 2014). …”