Edible insects: A bibliometric analysis and current trends of published studies (1953–2021)

Abstract

Edible insects have huge potential as an important alternative food and feed, and research in this area has developed considerably over the past few decades. In this study, a bibliometric analysis was conducted for the first time to provide a quantitative and visualization analysis of the trends in the edible insect research landscape. Documents on 'edible insects' OR 'insects as food' OR 'entomophagy' published from 1953 until 2021 were retrieved from the Scopus database and analyzed in terms of publication output, active journals and countries, leading authors, and institutes, and main keywords. The VOSviewer program was used to visualize trends in the bibliographic information. A total of 1376 documents were published in this time duration on the topic. Meyer-Rochow, Van Huis; Journal of Insect as Food and Feed; and Wageningen University and Research were respectively the top publishing authors, leading journals, and research institutes. Keywords analysis and categorization of studies highlighted 'food security', 'food neophobia', 'functional properties', 'food processing', and 'sustainability' as some of the main areas of interest and research trends, and that research on 'edible insects' is highly multidisciplinary. We have surmised potential 'hotspot' areas of developing research and key players and activities that can drive the research and development of edible insects for use as food. International collaborations to bridge knowledge and habit of entomophagy in many developing countries with the skills and facilities of developed countries could lead to accelerated utilization and commercialization of this food source.Graphical abstract