Purpose: Edible insects are considered as a novel food in western countries, with their introduction to cuisine having to overcome major barriers, such as disgust. The studies related to acceptance of entomophagy have exponentially grown since 2015. However, such studies generally focus on people older than 18 years old. The purpose of this study is to assess the perceptions of youngsters towards edible insects.Design/methodology/approach: A survey associated with an optional tasting session was conducted to record opinion of 151 youngsters in Belgium (9–17-year-olds).Findings: Many respondents are acquainted with entomophagy and had already eaten insect-based food. Most youngsters associated insects as snacks and salty foods, and they agreed to consume processed insects (falafel) during the tasting session. Tasters had to evaluate the falafel, and higher ratings were recorded in male respondents, as highlighted in studies including adults. More negative evaluations would be expected among older respondents if unprocessed insects were served, as they were more willing to consume processed insects than entire insects. Finally, attitudes towards entomophagy evolved positively after the tasting session. Such events are consequently recommended to promote entomophagy across western youngsters.Originality/value: Few studies explored the attitude of western youngsters towards entomophagy. This paper aims to fill this gap by focusing on this young component of the Belgian population.

Human consumption of insects has previously been examined in cross-cultural studies. However, such studies rarely include African countries and willingness-to-pay for insect-based food has never been assessed in cross-cultural studies. The current study presents a cross-cultural study conducted with 409 urban dwellers from Belgium (191 males; 218 females) and 412 urban dwellers from Gabon (219 males; 193 females). Each respondent was surveyed with a questionnaire following the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices model and included questions relative to willingness-to-pay for 2 insect-based foods (insect baguette and insect burger). More than 90% of respondents from both countries were familiar with edible insects. However, acceptance of entomophagy was lower in respondents from Gabon than in respondents from Belgium. Intercultural differences were also recorded between Gabonese ethnic groups. Most respondents who accepted entomophagy were willing to eat the insect baguette and/or the insect burger. These findings confirm that entomophagy could further develop in Belgium and Gabon. Willingness-to-pay varied between countries and between insect-based foods. In Belgium, the average prices of comparable conventional foods (i.e., same foods but without insects) were lower than the average willingness-to-pay for insect-based foods. In Gabon, respondents were not willing to pay extra for insect-based foods. Setting the right price for insect-based foods is a necessary step to promote more frequent insect consumption.

Entomophagy is well established in the food habits of Africa; however, country-wide knowledge remains limited for several countries, including Gabon. Here, two surveys on entomophagy were conducted in Gabon through face-to-face interviews. The first survey collected information on insect eating habits from 169 potential consumers. Edible insects formed part of the diet of most Gabonese people, with more than 60% of consumers within participants, and were particularly common among the Teke ethnic group (93%). Familiarity with edible insects was influenced by culture and family, but not by gender or study level. The second survey focused on edible insect species and their host plants, by interviewing a sample of 113 both villagers and retailers. Seventy-five species of insects from six insect orders (Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata and Orthoptera) were consumed in Gabon, and were collected from 48 species of host plant. Many insects were formerly reported in the literature related to entomophagy; however, 13 species were newly reported as edible in this study:Bidessus batekensis,Bunaeopsis licharbas,Copelatus ateles,Copelatus confinis,Copelatus fizpaci,Copelatus tondangoyei,Gonobombyx angulata,Gonometa titan,Hydrocyrius columbiae,Oxychirus semisericeus,Philobota sp.,Psara sp. andPtyelus flavescens. Consequently, these surveys highlighted that entomophagy is common in Gabon. However, strategies to promote edible insects are needed to have a significant impact on food issues in Gabon (e.g. food insecurity and dependence on foreign food supplies). Additional researches on entomophagy in Gabon are required to further develop these strategies.

The issue of consumer acceptance is largely investigated in the literature relative to entomophagy, as edible insects are not a common part of European food habits. This topic was also discussed in the current study, which analysed 1,382 responses to an online survey in Belgium. The first aim of this research was to study the potential influence of personal factors, including field of work, on consumer acceptance. The second objective was to determine the most appropriate context for entomophagy, regarding timing and style of preparation. Gender, nationality and field of work of respondents were identified as influencing factors, while age was identified as a factor that did not impact consumer acceptance. Personal factors that influenced acceptance must be used as discriminating factors to select willing consumers of edible insects. Regarding context, edible insects were not appropriate at breakfast, while they were considered as snacks. Such considerations provide useful information in determining the most appropriate insect-based food for European markets.

Purpose: This study explored how preparing insect-based foods at home influences attitudes toward entomophagy and sensory evaluation, filling a gap, as most Western research involves tasting sessions with foods prepared by others. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 172 respondents from Belgium participated in this study. Participants had previously indicated that they accepted the consumption of edible insects and voluntarily agreed to participate in either a tasting activity or a cooking and tasting activity. Participants either prepared an insect-based muffin themselves or received a ready-to-eat muffin prepared by a third party. Findings: No significant changes in attitudes were observed following either activity, although the high baseline acceptance limited the potential for further improvement. Nonetheless, those who prepared the insect-based muffin rated it higher on most sensory attributes compared to non-preparers. This finding is consistent with the previously described “I cooked it myself” effect, although the present study cannot establish that cooking itself caused the observed difference. Further research using direct measures of potential psychological mechanisms is therefore needed. Originality/value: This study provides exploratory evidence on the association between personal preparation of an insect-based food and sensory evaluation in a home-based setting. It extends previous research on self-preparation and food appreciation to the context of edible insects.