Sensory evaluation and acceptance of food made of edible insects

Martin Adámek,Oldřich Faměra,Martin Búran,Jana Orsavová,Jiří Mlček,Martina Bučková,Klára Vojáčková,Lenka Kouřimská,Anna Adámková

doi:10.5219/1430

Abstract

This paper discusses the sensory analysis of food enriched with selected edible insect species which are labelled as a novel food – house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor). Energy bars of two different compositions with the addition of cricket flour and puff pastry bars sprinkled with the whole roasted mealworm larvae were evaluated by consumer tests performed via a questionnaire survey. Respondents represented both men and women in equal numbers and included consumers with the experience of the sensory analysis and edible insects to ensure accurate results. Sensory analyses revealed that respondents associated their tastes with already known flavors (salty, sweet, bitter, fish, French fries, chicken, and mushrooms). The most common answer from respondents was a salty taste, followed by a sweet taste. There were also unusual comparisons such as pine seeds. Consumers’ positive attitude to these energy bars has been registered which shows that the Czech consumer accepts edible insects in a suitable form as a novel food and possible part of the food basket.

Highlights

Entomophagy is a practice of edible insect consumption (Imathiu, 2020)
This paper discusses the sensory analysis of food enriched with selected edible insect species which are labelled as a novel food – house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor)
Puff pastry bars sprinkled with mealworm During the first part of the sensory analysis, a questionnaire survey was used to evaluate samples of mealworm on puff pastry bars

Summary

Introduction

Entomophagy is a practice of edible insect consumption (Imathiu, 2020). The origin of this word comes from Greece, where ἔντομον éntomon means “insects” and φᾰγεῖν phagein is translated as “to eat” (Kouřimská and Adámková, 2016).Sensory properties comprise an important criterion for edible insect consumption (Borkovcová et al, 2009; Adámek et al, 2017). Entomophagy is a practice of edible insect consumption (Imathiu, 2020). The origin of this word comes from Greece, where ἔντομον éntomon means “insects” and φᾰγεῖν phagein is translated as “to eat” (Kouřimská and Adámková, 2016). There are approximately two billion people in 113 countries consuming edible insects (Lucas et al, 2020). In China, where entomophagy is practiced for more than 3,000 years (Lucas et al, 2020), edible insect gains the role of a food ingredient and is seen as a suitable alternative to further kinds of meat (Kröncke et al, 2018)

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