Xavier Cheseto, Steve B S Baleba, Chrysantus M Tanga, Segenet Kelemu, Baldwyn Torto
Globally, there is growing interest to integrate insect-derived ingredients into food products. Knowledge of consumer perception to these food products is growing rapidly in the literature, but similar knowledge on the use of oils from African edible insects remains to be established. In this study, we (1) compared the chemistry of the oils from two commonly consumed grasshoppers, the desert locust and the African bush-cricket with those of olive and sesame oils; (2) compared the proximate composition of a baked product (cookie) prepared from the oils; (3) identified the potential volatiles and fatty acids contributing to the aroma and taste; and (4) examined acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for the baked product among consumers with no previous experience of entomophagy. Our results showed that the insect oils were compositionally richer in omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, and vitamin E than the plant oils. Proximate analysis and volatile chemistry revealed that differences in aroma and taste of the cookies were associated with their sources of oils. Consumers' acceptance was high for cookies prepared with (95%) and sesame (89%) oils compared to those with olive and oils. Notably, cookies prepared with insect oils had more than 50% dislike in aroma and taste. Consumers' willingness to pay for cookies prepared with insect oils was 6-8 times higher than for cookies containing olive oil, but 3-4 times lower than cookies containing sesame oil. Our findings show that integrating edible insect oils into cookies, entices people to ''take the first step" in entomophagy by decreasing insect-based food products neophobia, thereby, contributing to consumers' acceptance of the baked products. However, future research should explore the use of refined or flavored insect oils for bakery products to reduce off-flavors that might have been perceived in the formulated food products.
