Consumer approach to insects as food: barriers and potential for consumption in Italy

Consumer approach to insects as food: barriers and potential for consumption in Italy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitude of Italian consumers towards insect consumption. The use of insects as alternative protein source is claimed to be a solution to the environmental concerns over the production of animal proteins and to food security issues. Studies conduct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British food journal (1966) Vol. 118; no. 9; pp. 2271 - 2286
Main Authors: Cicatiello, Clara, De Rosa, Beatrice, Franco, Silvio, Lacetera, Nicola
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 05-09-2016
Subjects:
Age
Animal production
Attitudes
Consumer attitudes
Consumers
Consumption
Diet
Education
Familiarity
Food
Food products
Food security
Insects
Meals
Nutrition research
Protein sources
Proteins
Shopping malls
Italy
Netherlands
Europe
Logistic regression
Insect consumption
Food consumption
Entomophagy
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Summary:Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitude of Italian consumers towards insect consumption. The use of insects as alternative protein source is claimed to be a solution to the environmental concerns over the production of animal proteins and to food security issues. Studies conducted in other European countries report that consumers are quite resistant to the introduction of insect-based products in their diet, although those who are more concerned about environmental and health show some interest towards insect consumption. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a survey with a 14-item questionnaire on 201 consumers, selected with a systematic sampling within a shopping mall. The factors influencing respondents’ attitude towards insect consumption were studied by means of a logistic regression. Findings Results show that 31 per cent of respondents were willing to try insects as food, while 5 per cent had already tried. Familiarity with foreign food, higher education and gender (male) positively influenced consumer attitude to entomophagy. Instead, the fear of insects and the idea that the taste might be disgusting were the main barriers to the willingness to try entomophagy, although these issues were mainly raised by consumers who had no direct experience with insects eating. Originality/value The paper is a first attempt of exploring the topic of entomophagy in the Italian context. Most of the results were consistent with previous research carried out in other countries. However, some barriers to insect consumption seem to be stronger in Italy than elsewhere.
ISSN:0007-070X
1758-4108
DOI:10.1108/BFJ-01-2016-0015