Study finds insect protein bars can win over first-time tasters

Adults in Portugal who had never eaten insect-based foods often preferred an insect protein bar after tasting it, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. The findings point to sampling as a possible way to reduce consumer hesitation as insects draw attention as a more sustainable protein option.

The study appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics and examined how people responded to insect-based foods through surveys and physiological measures. The American Psychological Association said researchers tracked both reported reactions and signals such as brain activity and heart rate while participants tasted food products.

The research team was led by Andreia C. B. Ferreira, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Beira Interior in Portugal. Ferreira and her colleagues studied 38 adults ages 18 to 55 in Portugal who had not previously tried insect-based foods, according to the association.

How the tasting test worked

Participants first answered questions about what they knew and thought about insect-based foods, according to the study. They then tried an insect protein bar and a cereal bar while researchers used electroencephalography, or EEG, and electrocardiography, or ECG, to record brain and heart activity.

The researchers expected participants to know little about insect foods, favor the cereal bar and show stronger physical reactions to the insect product, the American Psychological Association said. Instead, the study found participants were often more open and curious than the team had anticipated.

“The findings were very surprising,” Ferreira said, according to the association. “This was really an unexpected result as literature said to us that consumers tend to reject these novel foods. The results show us the relevance of tasting experiments on promoting this new alternative.”

To test the role of expectations, researchers gave some participants accurate information about what they were eating. Others were told they were eating a cereal bar when they were actually tasting the insect-based bar, according to the study.

The physiological data showed higher attention and engagement during consumption of the insect protein bars, the researchers reported. The team also saw increased heart-rate activity during tasting, which they interpreted as a sign of greater arousal and attentiveness.

Those patterns appeared even among participants who did not know they were eating an insect product, according to the American Psychological Association. The researchers said that suggests the reaction was not explained only by the idea of eating insects.

Sampling may shift attitudes

After participants tried both products, researchers asked which bar they preferred. The study found participants were more likely to pick the insect protein bar than the cereal bar.

The researchers said the results suggest direct exposure may help people feel more comfortable with unfamiliar foods. Before tasting, participants often expressed uncertainty or surprise about insect-based products; after tasting, many reported positive reactions, according to the association.

Ferreira said companies and public agencies should communicate both the novelty and the potential benefits of insect-based foods. “Communication should not only position insect-based food as ‘new’ but also clearly state its potential nutritional and sustainability-related advantages compared to other protein alternatives,” she said.

The American Psychological Association noted that insect-based foods are receiving more regulatory and commercial attention in Europe. The European Union recognized insects as a novel food source in 2018 and has since approved several insect food sources, including yellow mealworms, migratory locusts, house crickets and lesser mealworms in frozen, dried or powdered forms.

The authors described the study as exploratory and pointed to limits including its small sample size, according to the association. They said larger and more diverse studies are needed to understand how people in different cultures respond to insect-based foods and to different types of products.

This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.