Daniela Nuţă

Dr. Daniela Nuţă


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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8 March 2023 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Corina Aurelia ZugravuCorina Aurelia Zugravu
Corina Aurelia Zugravu
Monica TarceaMonica Tarcea
Monica Tarcea
MNMirela Nedelescu
Mirela Nedelescu
DNDaniela Nuţă
Daniela Nuţă
Raquel P. F. GuinéRaquel P. F. Guiné
Raquel P. F. Guiné
CCCiprian Constantin
Ciprian Constantin
The role that insects will play in a healthier and more sustainable diet has been highlighted in the last years, at the European level. In future, due to environmental concerns and population growth, eating insects might be a solution for many problems. However, populations without the tradition of eating insects are still reluctant in accepting such a food as part of their diet. The present observational study highlights some factors that are influencing the acceptance of insects as food in Romania, in 2022. A number of 496 Romanian adults, 433 women and 63 men, with the mean age 39.3 ± 11 years, completed a validated questionnaire analyzing food behaviors, as well as attitudes and knowledge in relation to insects, including sustainability, nutrition and food safety aspects. Only 6.3% of participants had already eaten insects, while 43.8% claimed their openness to do it in future. Insect-based products were accepted more than insects that can be perceived as such. The most frequent words associated with insects were rather deleterious: disgust, odd, nausea, not to eat, or curiosity. Investigating the factors involved in insect acceptability in Romanians’ diets, we found a statistically significant correlation between openness to eat them and the knowledge about insects as being a valuable, sustainable and safe source of nutrients. Targeted education seems to be an important tool in accepting them as part of future diets.