Australians’ experience, barriers and willingness towards consuming edible insects as an emerging protein source

Hopkins, Indee; Farahnaky, Asgar; Gill, Harsharn; Newman, Lisa P.; Danaher, Jessica

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105832

Cited by 16 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Except for the safety concerns, the most important reason is the acceptance of edible insects. The acceptance of people would be affected by food neophobia, disgust, environmental awareness, health consciousness, risk assessment, personal experiences, familiarity, and sociodemographic factors (Orsi et al., 2019; Hopkins et al., 2022; Kasza et al., 2023). The approval of the use of cricket powder as food ingredients by EU could be a good sign for improving acceptance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acheta domesticus (house cricket) as human foods ‐ An approval of the European Commission ‐ A systematic review

Siddiqui,

Zhao,

Fitriani

et al. 2024

Food Frontiers

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Entomophagy (consumption of insects) has been proposed as one of the important solutions to the food crisis caused by population growth. Despite a long history of insect consumption, numerous challenges have arisen that question the feasibility of using insects as a food source. It should be notifying that Acheta domesticus (house cricket) is recently approved by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/188 as a novel food ingredient. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the house cricket is paramount for fostering a proper appreciation of its potential as a food source. This review aims to provide comprehensive and in‐depth information on the house cricket, covering various aspects such as its consumption, bioecology, nutritional value, health benefits, harvesting and rearing, and processing methods for use as a food source. Additionally, the consumer acceptance of house cricket will be discussed and specific information on why it has gained approval in the European Union will also be provided. The consumption of crickets has a long history as both food and feed. They are environmentally friendly to rear, making them an attractive option for human consumption. House cricket, in particular, holds promise as a sustainable alternative to traditional farming and conventional food sources due to its nutritional and pharmaceutical properties. Different processing methods enhance its potential. However, there are challenges regarding public acceptance, which can be overcome through diverse processing techniques and applications. Further research and efforts are needed to expand the acceptance and application of A. domesticus.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acheta domesticus (house cricket) as human foods ‐ An approval of the European Commission ‐ A systematic review

Siddiqui,

Zhao,

Fitriani

et al. 2024

Food Frontiers

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“…In a recent online survey of Australian consumers, 35% had previously consumed insects while 56% were willing to try insects in the future ( Hopkins et al, 2022 ). After reviewing 70 published articles Testa et al (2017) found that the greatest risks or perceived risks for the safety of insects as human food or animal feed related to allergy, microbiological and chemical contamination, malabsorption, hematic alteration, and the role of antinutrients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black soldier fly larvae protein production in Australia

DiGiacomo

2023

Animal Frontiers

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“…On the other hand, in Western societies, including Europe and the United States, eating insects is not common, and there is still a high resistance to adopting such exotic dietary practices [7,8]. Neophobia is present in the minds of Western consumers still today, even despite their recognition that EIs have environmental advantages over other types of animal protein [9,10]. A recent review [11] discussing consumer perceptions of EIs, revealed that it is widely accepted that EIs are not part of the diets in Western countries, and therefore it is difficult to include them as regular foods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies undertaken in some Western countries report some reluctance to adopt EIs into their diets while also stating that people tend to feel motivated to consumption by sustainable aspects. A study conducted in Australia [9] showed barriers to consumption, but people there are more ready to accept foods containing insects or those in which the insects are "disguised," like insect-based flour or chocolate-covered ants. A study conducted among German adults [12] showed that they were generally willing to try insects and concluded that an attractive packaging design did not increase the willingness to try them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The consumption of EIs could be strongly influenced by both cultural influences and knowledge about their effects and their impact. However, a search in the scientific literature proved that this topic is highly understudied and requires attention from the scientific community, unlike the motivations for the consumption of EIs, which have been intensively studied [9,[30][31][32]. Hence, the aim of this study, as part of the international project EISuFood, was to characterise the level of knowledge about EIs in a sample of people from thirteen countries and to understand how this knowledge could lead to the formation of groups of people based on their knowledge regarding various aspects related to EIs, going from nutrition and health effects to sustainability issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigation of the Level of Knowledge in Different Countries about Edible Insects: Cluster Segmentation

et al. 2022

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This study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge about edible insects (EIs) in a sample of people from thirteen countries (Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey). Data collection was based on a questionnaire survey applied through online tools between July and November 2021. For data analysis, techniques such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, and chi-square tests were used, with a significance level of 5%. A total of 27 items were used to measure knowledge on a five-point Likert scale. Applying factor analysis with principal components and Varimax rotation, a solution that explains about 55% of variance was obtained. This accounts for four factors that retained 22 of the 27 initial items: F1 = Sustainability (8 items), F2 = Nutrition (8 items), F3 = Production Factors (2 items), and F4 = Health Concerns (4 items). Internal consistency was evaluated through Cronbach’s alpha. The cluster analysis consisted of the application of hierarchical methods followed by k-means and produced three clusters (1—‘fearful’, 2—‘farming,’ and 3—‘ecological’ individuals). The characterisation of the clusters revealed that age did not influence cluster membership, while sex, education, country, living environment, professional area, and income all influenced the composition of the clusters. While participants from Mexico and Spain were fewer in the ‘fearful’ cluster, in those from Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, and Turkey, the situation was opposed. Participants from rural areas were mostly in cluster 2, which also included a higher percentage of participants with lower income. Participants from professional areas linked with biology, food, and nutrition were mostly in cluster 3. In this way, we concluded that the level of knowledge about EIs is highly variable according to the individual characteristics, namely that the social and cultural influences of the different countries lead to distinct levels of knowledge and interpretation of information, thus producing divergent approaches to the consumption of insects—some more reluctant and measuring possible risks. In contrast, others consider EIs a good and sustainable protein-food alternative.

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Australians’ experience, barriers and willingness towards consuming edible insects as an emerging protein source

Cited by 16 publications

References 33 publications

Acheta domesticus (house cricket) as human foods ‐ An approval of the European Commission ‐ A systematic review

Acheta domesticus (house cricket) as human foods ‐ An approval of the European Commission ‐ A systematic review

Black soldier fly larvae protein production in Australia

Investigation of the Level of Knowledge in Different Countries about Edible Insects: Cluster Segmentation

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