Perceived Risk of Insect-Based Foods: An Assessment of the Entomophagy Attitude Questionnaire Predictive Validity

Insects are a promising alternative protein source and their possible integration in the human diet has been extensively studied, also with reference to the degree of consumer acceptability and the main factors determining reluctance among Western consumers. Several studies have also proposed the use of protein meals derived from insects in animal feed as a possible way to promote the development of the insect chain. Consumer attitudes, perceived risks, and intention to eat insect-based foods have been extensively researched, yet the relationships between those factors are still unclear. On a sample of 202 Italian consumers, the present research used the Entomophagy Attitude Questionnaire (EAQ) to analyse the degree of acceptability of insects as food and meat obtained from animals raised on insect-based feeds with a specific focus on the role of attitudes and perceived risk. The research also evaluated the differences in acceptability between different types of animals fed with insects. The results show that the intention to engage in entomophagy is significantly correlated with all three of the EAQ's subscales, as well as with perceived risk. However, the effect of perceived risk does not significantly improve the predictive validity of EAQ with respect to the intention to eat insect-based food. The results also show that the degree of acceptability for different insect meal-reared animals changes among consumers: beef and pork are characterized by a lower degree of acceptability, while poultry and fish are more accepted by consumers.