Insects as Novel Food: A Consumer Attitude Analysis through the Dominance-Based Rough Set Approach

Roma, Rocco; Palmisano, Giovanni Ottomano; Boni, Annalisa De

doi:10.3390/foods9040387

Cited by 64 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Consequently, consumers need to be provided with reliable information to increase their confidence and trust in the product. In line with other studies, the provision of comprehensive information about the benefits of feeding hens with insects may enhance awareness and, in turn, increase consumers' intentions to consume and purchase the product [13][14][15]20].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Consumers’ Perspectives on Eggs from Insect-Fed Hens: A UK Focus Group Study

Spartano

Grasso

2021

Foods

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In recent years, there has been growing interest in insects as an alternative to soybean meal as laying hen feed due to nutrition, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits. Although some studies have investigated consumer acceptance and intentions towards insect-fed foodstuffs, no studies are available on eggs from insect-fed hens. This qualitative study aimed to explore consumers’ attitudes and perceptions towards eggs from insect-fed hens and factors influencing intentions to consume and purchase the product. Three focus group discussions were employed with a total of 19 individuals from the UK. Results showed that the environmental, animal welfare, and food waste benefits of feeding hens with insects positively influenced attitudes. Results also indicated price and disgust towards insects as feed were the main barriers, while enhanced welfare standards (e.g., free-range labelling) and information on benefits were main drivers. Therefore, the study suggests that educating and informing consumers about the benefits of feeding hens with insects may increase intentions to consume and purchase eggs from insect-fed hens. Given this emerging area of research, this study contributes to the limited literature on insect-fed foodstuffs and paves the way for further research on the topic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Consumers’ Perspectives on Eggs from Insect-Fed Hens: A UK Focus Group Study

Spartano

Grasso

2021

Foods

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“…Although an increased number of studies have analyzed the acceptance of entomophagy [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], Western societies continue to have attitudinal barriers to considering insects as food [ 1 , 19 , 20 ]. Particularly, in countries that have no recent history of eating insects, it has been difficult to accept the practice of entomophagy [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Acceptance of Entomophagy: A Survey of Italian Consumers

Moruzzo

Mancini

Boncinelli

et al. 2021

Insects

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Insect-based food is not common in Europe, because most people do not consider insects to be edible, but rather a threat and a health risk. Fear and refusal to eat a new food product introduced into a culture is called food neophobia, which results in a hesitation to trying and experimenting with new foods. Although there is significant interest in this novel sector, there is a lack of research on the link between rejection, the level of food neophobia, and consumer behavior related to the introduction of insects into the diet. In this study, through 420 questionnaires, a specific experimental scale of insects was introduced which, together with a neophobia scale, analyzed the probability and the intention of respondents to consume insects. Another issue tested has been their intention to eat food containing insects. We observed that the analyses of the two scales produced different results, confirming the need for a specific scale to measure “insect phobia”. This is important, since knowledge about consumer preferences for and barriers to using insects as human food sources is limited but necessary in order to set up commercialization strategies. The development of insect-based food offers physical health benefits and also improves the sustainability of the food industry.

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“…Other reported studies have related sensory properties in bread made with alternative protein sources, and many have been evaluated by trained or untrained assessors [19,20,24,31,[67][68][69][70][71][72]; also, the authors evaluated overall acceptance [29,73,74] with untrained assessors. Castro and Chambers [75] presented results of specific consumer behaviours toward insect-based products and Roma et al [76] provided a useful contribution to understanding how consumer's features may affect different behaviours towards entomophagy. Several studies identified factors to explain the low insect consumption acceptance in Belgium [52], Switzerland [46], Hungary [77], Poland [78], and Germany [79].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicochemical Properties and Consumer Acceptance of Bread Enriched with Alternative Proteins

García-Segovía

Igual

Martı́nez-Monzó

2020

Foods

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A projected global population growth by 2050 and climate change crises have led to increasing demand in edible protein sources; thus, scientific research and food industries are searching for alternatives. In this study, we investigated the incorporation of plant- and insect-based protein sources in wheat-based formulations. The Alveographic properties of dough and the effects on bread physicochemical and sensory characteristics were analysed. Including pea protein or insect powder improved the nutritional value, increasing protein content, but influenced the dough and bread properties. Pea protein significantly increased the dough extensibility (L), tenacity (P), and their ratio (P/L) in dough with insect blends and the control. Bread texture properties were significantly affected by the addition of pea and insect flour. Higher amounts of pea protein incorporation increased hardness values and showed a mean cell area lower than the control bread. Crust colour analysis showed significant differences concerning the control bread, while crumb colour was affected by the flour colour. Word association analysis showed insect bread was associated with an emotional dimension, wheat bread was linked with “tradition”, and pea bread was associated with “fruit and vegetable”.

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Insects as Novel Food: A Consumer Attitude Analysis through the Dominance-Based Rough Set Approach

Cited by 64 publications

References 72 publications

Consumers’ Perspectives on Eggs from Insect-Fed Hens: A UK Focus Group Study

Consumers’ Perspectives on Eggs from Insect-Fed Hens: A UK Focus Group Study

Exploring the Acceptance of Entomophagy: A Survey of Italian Consumers

Physicochemical Properties and Consumer Acceptance of Bread Enriched with Alternative Proteins

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