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How food disgust sensitivity influences perceptions of insects as food and feed : evidence from complementary quantitative and qualitative analysis

Niimi, Jun ; Aubin, Gustav St ; Adevi, Marcus K. LU ; van Huyssteen, Greta and Collier, Elizabeth S. (2025) In Future Foods 11.
Abstract

The role of food disgust on entamophagy acceptance is well established but further indepth analysis of how food disgust impacts other aspects that include a wider range of attitudes have been seldom investigated. The study employed a two-study mixed-methods approach to determine the impact of food disgust on consumer's perceptions of insects as food and feed. In study one, an online questionnaire (N = 402) was deployed to determine the impact of food disgust on perceptions of insects as food and animal feed, familiarity, willingness to try foods containing insects, and sensory expectations. Food disgust inversely correlated with insects being acceptable as both food and feed. Individuals with higher food disgust had no willingness to... (More)

The role of food disgust on entamophagy acceptance is well established but further indepth analysis of how food disgust impacts other aspects that include a wider range of attitudes have been seldom investigated. The study employed a two-study mixed-methods approach to determine the impact of food disgust on consumer's perceptions of insects as food and feed. In study one, an online questionnaire (N = 402) was deployed to determine the impact of food disgust on perceptions of insects as food and animal feed, familiarity, willingness to try foods containing insects, and sensory expectations. Food disgust inversely correlated with insects being acceptable as both food and feed. Individuals with higher food disgust had no willingness to try any foods with insects included. Providing information had a minor change on sensory expectations of hypothetical hamburgers with insects. In study two, participants were split into groups of low/high disgust and by five dietary orientations, and discussed topics concerning general attitudes towards traditional/alternative protein sources and insects as food/feed. Food disgust overrode differences in dietary orientation for participants’ attitudes towards insects as food. Themes including culture, sustainability, ethics, scepticism, hygiene, convention, and familiarity were identified. Themes of naturalness, food safety and ethics emerged in addition. The mixed-method approach revealed the reasons behind the general unwillingness to try insects and the types of barriers experienced towards insects as food.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Alternative proteins, Disgust, Entomophagy, Sensory expectations, Sociocultural perspectives
in
Future Foods
volume
11
article number
100656
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105005196525
ISSN
2666-8335
DOI
10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100656
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6bf61b94-f553-4a9b-8b08-c7a21f6022e9
date added to LUP
2025-07-30 11:58:10
date last changed
2025-07-30 11:59:29
@article{6bf61b94-f553-4a9b-8b08-c7a21f6022e9,
  abstract     = {{<p>The role of food disgust on entamophagy acceptance is well established but further indepth analysis of how food disgust impacts other aspects that include a wider range of attitudes have been seldom investigated. The study employed a two-study mixed-methods approach to determine the impact of food disgust on consumer's perceptions of insects as food and feed. In study one, an online questionnaire (N = 402) was deployed to determine the impact of food disgust on perceptions of insects as food and animal feed, familiarity, willingness to try foods containing insects, and sensory expectations. Food disgust inversely correlated with insects being acceptable as both food and feed. Individuals with higher food disgust had no willingness to try any foods with insects included. Providing information had a minor change on sensory expectations of hypothetical hamburgers with insects. In study two, participants were split into groups of low/high disgust and by five dietary orientations, and discussed topics concerning general attitudes towards traditional/alternative protein sources and insects as food/feed. Food disgust overrode differences in dietary orientation for participants’ attitudes towards insects as food. Themes including culture, sustainability, ethics, scepticism, hygiene, convention, and familiarity were identified. Themes of naturalness, food safety and ethics emerged in addition. The mixed-method approach revealed the reasons behind the general unwillingness to try insects and the types of barriers experienced towards insects as food.</p>}},
  author       = {{Niimi, Jun and Aubin, Gustav St and Adevi, Marcus K. and van Huyssteen, Greta and Collier, Elizabeth S.}},
  issn         = {{2666-8335}},
  keywords     = {{Alternative proteins; Disgust; Entomophagy; Sensory expectations; Sociocultural perspectives}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Future Foods}},
  title        = {{How food disgust sensitivity influences perceptions of insects as food and feed : evidence from complementary quantitative and qualitative analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100656}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100656}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}