Department of Commodity Science, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland.
Department of Carbohydrate Technology and Cereal Processing, Faculty of Food Technology, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 31-120 Kraków, Poland.
Nutrients. 2023 Dec 8;15(24):5047. doi: 10.3390/nu15245047.
Research on the acceptance of consuming insects in one's diet shows the increasing importance of this issue in the context of a sustainable food chain and ecology. Insects represent a promising food source due to their high nutritional value, efficiency in production, and minimal environmental impact, as well as the growing awareness of ecological issues. Despite these benefits, cultural and psychological barriers hinder the acceptance of consuming insects in Western countries. In this study, an assessment was made of the acceptance level of cream-type soups made from tomatoes and white vegetables with the addition of 20% flour from four insect species: mealworm (; house cricket (); buffalo worm (); and grasshopper (), compared to a control sample. One hundred and four subjects (55 seniors and 49 young adults) participated in this study. The acceptance level of various soups with insect flour was evaluated, considering different sensory parameters such as appearance, smell, taste, and texture. The research showed that older people have a lower acceptance for dishes containing insects compared to young adults, but the differences in the responses given were not statistically significant ( = 0.05), rejecting the assumption that insect-based products should be mainly targeted at young people. Of all the proposed test samples, the mealworm () was the most acceptable insect species in the tests in both taste versions for both age groups. The average score was 6.63 points on a 10-point scale. The products with the addition of grasshopper () were rated the lowest. The acceptance level ranged between 4.23 and 4.38 points. A multiple regression analysis showed that taste and texture had the strongest influence on the overall acceptance of these dishes, and the results obtained were highly correlated with the general opinion of the testers. The increasing acceptance level and growing interest in this type of food can be a positive step towards sustainable and efficient food production.
食用昆虫的接受度研究表明，在可持续食物链和生态背景下，这一问题日益重要。昆虫作为一种有前途的食物来源，具有较高的营养价值、生产效率和较小的环境影响，同时人们对生态问题的认识也在不断提高。尽管有这些好处，但文化和心理障碍阻碍了西方国家对食用昆虫的接受。在这项研究中，评估了在番茄和白蔬菜制成的奶油汤中添加 20%四种昆虫（粉虫（）、家蟋蟀（）、水牛虫（）和蝗虫（））的面粉后，其可接受程度与对照样本相比。104 名受试者（55 名老年人和 49 名年轻人）参与了这项研究。评估了各种含有昆虫粉的汤的可接受程度，考虑了不同的感官参数，如外观、气味、味道和质地。研究表明，与年轻人相比，老年人对含有昆虫的菜肴接受程度较低，但给出的反应差异没有统计学意义（ = 0.05），这否定了昆虫类产品主要针对年轻人的假设。在所提出的所有测试样本中，在两个年龄组的两种口味版本的测试中，粉虫（）是最受欢迎的昆虫种类。平均得分为 6.63 分（满分 10 分）。添加蝗虫（）的产品得分最低。可接受程度在 4.23 到 4.38 分之间。多元回归分析表明，味道和质地对这些菜肴的整体可接受性影响最大，所得结果与测试者的总体意见高度相关。这种食品接受程度的提高和兴趣的增长可能是迈向可持续和高效食品生产的积极一步。
