Edible Insects: Preliminary Study about Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge on a Sample of Portuguese Citizens

Abstract

This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, consumption habits, and degree of acceptability of edible insects (EI) or derived products among Portuguese consumers. This work consisted of a questionnaire survey, undertaken on a sample of 213 participants. For the treatment of data, basic descriptive statistics were used, complemented with chi-square tests to assess some associations between categorical variables. Moreover, a tree classification analysis was carried out using a classification and regression tree (CRT) algorithm with cross-validation. The results indicated that people tend to have correct perceptions about the sustainability issues associated with the use of insects as alternative sources of protein; however, the level of knowledge and overall perception about their nutritive value is low. Regarding the consumption of EI, it was found that only a small part of the participants had already eaten them, doing it mostly abroad, by self-initiative, in a restaurant or at a party or event. Additionally, it was found that the reluctance to consume insects is higher if they are whole, but when they are transformed into ingredients used in food formulations, the level of acceptance increases. Furthermore, men have shown to have a better perception about EI, be more informed about sustainability, and have a higher level of acceptability when compared to women. As a final conclusion, it was observed that the Portuguese still show some resistance to adhere to the use of insects as replacements for meat products, but the market of insect based products can be a good alternative to overpass the neophobia associated with this type of food.

An Insight into the Level of Information about Sustainability of Edible Insects in a Traditionally Non-Insect-Eating Country: Exploratory Study

“…The value of V varies between a minimum of zero (corresponding to no association) and a maximum of one (when the association is perfect). Indicative values were considered as the following [15,33]: V ≈ 0.1-weak association; V ≈ 0.3-moderate association; and V ≈ 0.5 or higher-strong association.…”

“…EIs are a good source of nutrients, besides protein and their essential amino acids, they also contain fiber, fat (including polyunsaturated fatty acids), vitamins (particularly those of group B) and dietary minerals (for example calcium, iron and magnesium) [15][16][17]. However, they may also contain anti-nutrients, such as oxalates and phytic acid [18].…”

Plastic Food Packaging: Perceptions and Attitudes of Portuguese Consumers about Environmental Impact and Recycling

“…The Portuguese population in 2019 (the last year available) was 10.286 million people [31], of which about 80% are adults, aged 18 years old or over, and targeting half of the adult population. The sample should include 385 participants [32][33][34] in order to be representative.…”

Evolution of the Interest on Edible Insects

“…Several studies appeared recently on key aspects of the acceptance of edible insects: perceptions, attitudes, willingness and propensity to consume insects-based food in the regular diet [18][19][20].…”