Fecha de publicación: 25/10/2024 Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI) Foods, Vol. 13, Pages 3408: Edible Insects: Consumption, Perceptions, Culture and Tradition Among Adult Citizens from 14 Countries
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods13213408
Authors:
Raquel P. F. Guiné
Sofia G. Florença
Cristina A. Costa
Paula M. R. Correia
Luísa Cruz-Lopes
Bruno Esteves
Manuela Ferreira
Anabela Fragata
Ana P. Cardoso
Sofia Campos
Ofélia Anjos
Nada M. Boustani
Elena Bartkiene
Cristina Chuck-Hernández
Ilija Djekic
Monica Tarcea
Marijana Matek Sarić
Zanda Kruma
Malgorzata Korzeniowska
Maria Papageorgiou
Leticia González Árias
Maša Černelič-Bizjak
Emel Damarli
Vanessa Ferreira
Emre Bayraktaroğlu
Fatmanur Ozyurek Arpa

Although edible insects (EIs) are encouraged as a sustainable source of protein, their consumption is not as generalised as other types of food that are internationally accepted. While in some regions of the world, EIs are part of the gastronomic and cultural traditions, in other regions, people are not so receptive to this type of food, and some people even express some disgust towards it. Hence, this research focused on the habits of the participants regarding the consumption of insects as well as their perceptions about EIs being or not a part of the local culture or gastronomic patrimony. A questionnaire survey was implemented in fourteen countries (Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey), and globally, 7222 adult participants responded to the questionnaire. SPSS software (version 28) was used to process the data and carry out chi-square tests and Factor Analyses (FA). The obtained results showed significant differences between countries for all the questions included in the survey, either those regarding the habits of the participants or their opinions about the facts linked with EI tradition or cultural aspects. It was found that participants from Mexico consume EIs more than in all other countries and that strong motivations that would lead to consumption among those who do not consume include curiosity and food shortage. The solution obtained with FA considering the ten statements of the scale consisted of two factors: F1—Culture and Tradition of EIs (α = 0.675) and F2—Acceptance of EIs (α = 0.614). In conclusion, the consumption of EIs and the perceptions of people are highly variable according to geographic location and cultural environment.