The attitudes of Italian consumers towards jellyfish as novel food

Abstract

The globalization of food markets and the recent upgrade of the European regulation on novel foods open up new possibilities for the introduction of edible jellyfish in the diet of Europeans. In spite of no tradition of eating jellyfish in Italy and, more generally, in Western countries, several Mediterranean jellyfish species have biological and nutritional features with a large potential as innovative, sustainable novel food and source of bioactive compounds. To evaluate the Italians’ attitude of considering jellyfish as food source, a survey has been carried out on a group of 1445 individuals. A questionnaire was designed to assess the jellyfish consumption attitude (JCA) of respondents and explore the effect of their individual traits (socio-demography, personality, behavior habits, neophobia, disgust sensitivity) on JCA. Gender, age, and travelling habits differently affected JCA. Possible culinary uses and food pairing of jellyfish were also significantly influenced by JCA. Individuals with the highest propensity to accept jellyfish as food are young people, familiar with the sea environment, with high education level or students, and frequent travelers. Food neophobia and sensitivity to disgust are confirmed as personality traits able to strongly impair the acceptability of a novel food. Finally, this work provides insights into the acceptance and rejection variables that should be taken into account when an unfamiliar new food product, such as jellyfish, is planned to be introduced in a new dietary culture and new markets.