Edible Insects as New Food Frontier in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

Entomophagy has led to the recognition of insects as playing a major role in improving global environmental health, food, and nutritional security. The processing methods have shown to greatly affect its acceptance and consumption. This review selectively summarizes the current trends related to consumption of edible insects among householders, the food and beverage industry consumers, and its prospects as a key attractant in tourism destinations. Its unconventional processing techniques have hindered its growth especially in the food business industry, thus influencing the food value chain in entomophagy. The paper reviews perceptions on insects' consumption by identifying already developed processing methods, emphasizing on the health benefits of entomophagy and its economic importance. A structured literature search is conducted to identify published studies on edible-insects product processing, food design, its acceptance, and consumption in the food industry. The literature search is focused on its acceptance as whole consumption or after product development and whether it can be accepted in the food industry in its new form. It was observed that Europe has the highest publications on acceptance, public perception, processing technology, and research trends. Africa tends to prefer whole consumption, as the Americans is still have not taken a stand. Results reveal that processing of the insects and incorporating other ingredients have greatly increased acceptance of edible insects. Therefore, we conclude that new food designs that incorporate insects as special ingredient should be promoted in main stream hotels to attract food and culture tourism.

Consumers’ acceptance toward whole and processed mealworms: A cross-country study in Belgium, China, Italy, Mexico, and the US

“…This process is called “word-of-mouth” and has been claimed as the main mechanism to increase the spread of insect-based food in countries with low acceptance levels [ 69 ]. It has also been stated that a proper food design is needed to develop attractive insect-based foods that are able to provide positive experiences for consumers [ 70 ]. Indeed, recent studies have shown that overall liking and preference for insect-based foods can be similar to or higher than regular food if insect ingredients are appropriately processed and used in a correct formulation and application [ 71 , 72 ].…”

Levels of Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in Edible Insects and Implications for Human Exposure

“…Edible insects often undergo industrial processing via methods that may contribute to CP contamination, such as freeze-drying, oven-drying, or milling techniques to improve shelf life and acceptance as food, , and are generally characterized by an elevated fat content (ranging on average from 13.4% for Orthoptera to 33.4% for Coleoptera), which make them particularly prone to accumulation of CPs.…”

“…11,18 Foodstuffs may become contaminated with CPs via bioaccumulation in the environment, 11 release from food processing equipment like hand blenders 19 or baking ovens, 20 and migration from plastic food packaging. 21 Edible insects often undergo industrial processing via methods that may contribute to CP contamination, such as freeze-drying, oven-drying, or milling techniques to improve shelf life and acceptance as food, 4,22 and are generally characterized by an elevated fat content (ranging on average from 13.4% for Orthoptera to 33.4% for Coleoptera), 3 which make them particularly prone to accumulation of CPs.…”

What motivates consumers to accept whole and processed mealworms in their diets? A five-country study

“…Tzompa-Sosa et al ( 2023) also highlighted that oil deodorization is a necessary process to reduce volatile organic compounds in the oil (such as large amounts of acetic acid) that might be perceived as unpleasant flavors in the final product. As stressed by previous research, also food design is a critical element to develop attractive insect-based foods that can be able to provide positive experiences for consumers ( Ayieko et al, 2021 ). Nevertheless, insect ingredients should be appropriately processed and used in the correct formulation ( Dagevos, 2021 ;Kröger et al, 2022 ) and applications ( Tzompa-Sosa et al, 2023 ;Tzompa-Sosa et al, 2021 ).…”