The increasingly fierce competition in food trends requires producers to innovate and develop new foods to be accepted and to avoid neophobia by consumers at the same time. Food neophobia’s motivational adoption barriers include the consumption of novel foods, social norms and conflicting eating goals. Therefore, appropriate strategies are needed to avoid neophobia amid the presence of new food trends in the market. Efforts to avoid food neophobia can also be accepted as part of the sustainability concept, in which the consumer has new foods to choose from in order to reduce scarcity in one particular type of food. The food industry is also challenged to produce healthy food by producing food from natural ingredients. In this article, new food trends and advances in food processing are described, and through them, strategies to avoid neophobia and increase consumer acceptance of new food trends are referenced. Neophobia meets marketing food products delivered to consumers facing motivational adoption barriers, such as the consumption of novel foods, social norms and conflicting eating goals, which are indicated to be challenges to purchase drivers in new food trends. Tasting foods is indicated as one of the most efficient means to ensure neophobia reduction in new foods and new food trends. Other factors identified to reduce food neophobia are education, income, taste and exposure to novel foods. Some preconditions for novel foods to be accepted by consumers are related to the very nature of food innovation, the manufacturer’s features and market circumstances. Food processed with advanced technologies may differ depending on the brand of the food production company and the knowledge of consumers about the novel foods. Moreover, food technology is seen as more acceptable for plant food products based or natural ingredients for consumers. In addition to the focus on health benefits, it is supports the sustainability of food systems. Another accidental element is the transparent traceability system providing accurate and adequate information about such novel foods.

Chitin and chitosan are biopolymers that are frequently found in nature and have a broad range of applications in the food, biomedical and industrial sectors, due to their high biological activity. The primary source of chitin and chitosan is shellfish, however, shortages in the supply chain, seasonality issues in their availability, as well as ecological degradation are only a few of the problems with the main chitin resources. Due to the broad spectrum of applications for which chitin can be used, the demand for chitin and its derivatives is increasing. Therefore, the market is looking for widely available, greener alternatives to the main commercial chitin sources. Insects appear as a suitable candidate to fill this gap. During insect rearing and processing, a number of side streams are generated, e.g., exuviae of larvae and pupae, dead adults, etc. which are currently mostly discarded as waste. However, these side streams could constitute a novel and long-term supply of chitin for industrial applications. Recent research has demonstrated the suitability of several edible insect species for the production of chitin and chitosan, wherein the exoskeleton of the black soldier fly and field cricket are rich in chitin, making them a good source for chitin and chitosan extraction and purification among other farmed insect candidates. Moreover, several potential uses have been identified for insect-derived chitin and chitosan. Thus, this review aims to present recent advances in the production of chitin and chitosan from edible insects, specifically on their extraction and purification, as well as on their applications for agriculture, food and nutrition, biomedicine and bioplastic production.

Meat color research from the last two decades suggests that a combination of different intrinsic (ultimate pH, age of the animals, muscle position, breed, slaughter weight, and sex) and extrinsic factors (production systems and feeding, pre-mortem stress, slaughter season, and chilling rates) might have a deep impact in the color of beef muscle and influence consumers’ acceptance of fresh meat. Ultimate pH and muscle position were perceived as the most determinant intrinsic factors, whereas production systems, feeding, and ante-mortem stress were the extrinsic factors that more strongly influenced beef color attributes. From an industrial perspective, the extrinsic factors can be improved through the technological process at a higher ratio than the intrinsic ones. This review aims to evaluate the effect of each of those factors on myoglobin oxidation and beef color traits from a comprehensive standpoint. All the information discussed in this manuscript focuses on an industrial environment and offers possible solutions and recommendations for the global meat industry.