Católica Lisbon Research Unit in Business and Economics (CUBE)
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Browsing Católica Lisbon Research Unit in Business and Economics (CUBE) by Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) "02:Erradicar a Fome"
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- Insect-based dinner products for meat substitution in ordinary diets: developing the quality criteria and experimental products for consumer interventionsPublication . Maya, C.; Flore, R.; Sun, Y.; Costa, A. I. A.; Cunha, L. M.; Rocha, C.; Monteiro, M. J. P.; Osimani, A.; Aquilanti, L.; Borght, M. Van Der; Vandeweyer, D.; Chiriac, I. E.; Peters, M.; Rukov, J.; Roos, N.The growing environmental impact of livestock farming has emphasised the need for more sustainable diets with lower meat consumption, identifying insects as a potential alternative protein source. The Sustainable Insect Chain (SUSINCHAIN) project aimed to incorporate six new insect protein products into regular dinner meals, aiming to replace 20% of meat protein through a six-week dietary intervention in Denmark and Portugal, namely a randomised controlled study targeting families with children and young and childless couples respectively. This paper presents the process undertaken by project partners to develop the specifications and establish the quality criteria for the six study products. Quality criteria focused on the immediate appeal and sensory properties of edible insects as food ingredients, particularly taste, texture, and appearance to promote acceptability. Initial sensory evaluations of product prototypes provided essential feedback for improvement. The development of insect-based food products, including those mimicking traditional meat products, highlighted the significance of sensory quality and consumer perception in product acceptance. Non-meat mimicking items had high sensory appeal, but were not perceived as meat replacements, typically being later added as side dishes or supplements by intervention participants. Balancing insect protein content with sensory appeal presented challenges, highlighting the need to consider portion sizes and presentation. Overall, animal meat protein replacement in dinner meals using insect-based foods requires an integrated approach that combines innovative product development, ongoing quality assessments, and a deep understanding of consumer preferences, crucial for market acceptance and adoption.
- The role of prior information on consumer acceptance of insect-based food and feed in Europe: evidence from a discrete choice experimentPublication . Nikravech, Mariam; Dudinskaya, Emilia Cubero; Rumpold, Birgit Anika; Costa, Ana Isabel de Almeida; Zanoli, Raffaele; Langen, NinaInsects are a promising alternative source of protein and micronutrients. Their inclusion in human diets and as feed for animals destined for human consumption has been endorsed by the European Commission to promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of food security (SDG 2) and responsible production and consumption (SDG 12). However, in Germany, Italy and Portugal, their use as food is hampered by low consumer acceptance and unfamiliarity with insects as part of a regular diet. Previous research has demonstrated that modifying the choice architecture, such as providing additional information on positive insect consumption outcomes, affects consumers' choices. In this study, we analyze the effect of information on consumer preferences for insect-based and insect-fed chicken meatball alternatives in three European countries: Germany (N = 516), Italy (N = 502) and Portugal (N = 250). In particular, we inspect whether different information scenarios affect consumer preferences for insect-based food products as a more sustainable alternative to meat products using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) embedded in an experimental design. Results indicate that providing prior information about the sustainability of meat alternatives increases the acceptance of insect-based meat alternatives in Germany and Italy. However, there is no evidence that making the insect-protein content more salient is associated with an increased preference for insect-based meatballs.