Although locusts can be sustainably produced and are nutrient rich, the thought of eating them can be hard to swallow for many consumers. This paper aims to investigate the nutritional composition of Locusta migratoria, including the properties of extracted locust protein, contributing to limited literature and product development opportunities for industry. Locusts sourced from Dunedin, New Zealand, contained a high amount of protein (50.79% dry weight) and fat (34.93%), which contained high amounts of omega-3 (15.64%), creating a desirably low omega-3/omega-6 ratio of 0.57. Three protein fractions including; insoluble locust fraction, soluble locust fraction, and a supernatant fraction were recovered following alkali isoelectric precipitation methodology. Initially, proteins were solubilised at pH 10 then precipitated out at the isoelectric point (pH 4). All fractions had significantly higher protein contents compared with the whole locust. The insoluble protein fraction represented 37.76% of the dry weight of protein recovered and was much lighter in colour and greener compared to other fractions. It also had the highest water and oil holding capacity of 5.17 mL/g and 7.31 mL/g, possibly due to larger particle size. The high supernatant yield (56.60%) and low soluble protein yield (9.83%) was unexpected and could be a result of experimental pH conditions chosen.

Purpose: Insects can be sustainably produced and are nutrient rich. However, adoption of insects in western culture, including New Zealand (NZ) is slow. The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer attitudes, drivers and barriers towards entomophagy and uncover consumer expectations surrounding what their ideal insect product attributes are. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 32 participants took part in three product design workshops. This involved two sections. First, focus groups discussion took place surrounding consumer acceptance. Second, following adapted consumer idealised design, groups of three or four designed their ideal liquid and solid product incorporating extracted insect protein. Designs included the ideal product, place, price and promotional attributes. Findings: Participants were both disgusted and intrigued about entomophagy, with common barriers including; culture, food neophobia, disgust sensitivity, lack of necessity and knowledge. Motivational drivers were novelty, health, sustainability and/or nutrition. Most of the liquid and solid food products were designed as a premium priced sweet snack, drink or breakfast option, as opposed to a meat substitute. The convenience, health and sustainability benefits of certain products were promoted towards health and fitness oriented consumers. Whereas, other designs promoted the novelty of insects to kids or the general population, in order to introduce the idea of entomophagy to consumers. Originality/value: The study is the first attempt at uncovering what insect products NZ consumers are accepting of; therefore, contributing to both limited research and product development opportunities for industry.