Influence of cricket powder content and placebo effect on consumers’ acceptance of sweet biscuits

Introduction. Insect-based food products are an alternative to traditional foods. Insect powders are an important source of protein with lower ecological impact, but their inclusion in foods should consider effects on sensory properties and nutritional profiles. Objective. To evaluate consumer acceptance of sweet biscuits with cricket powder in Costa Rica, and to assess the nutritional profiles of the products developed. Materials and methods. The study was conducted at the Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica in 2023. Sweet biscuits with varying contents of cricket powder (0.0, 12.5, and 26.0 %) were produced to evaluate the placebo effect and to evaluate the effect of cricket powder content on consumer acceptance, using two groups of panelists. Demographic information, attitudes towards insect consumption, and the perceived importance of protein consumption were collected through a questionnaire. Proximate and detailed fatty acid composition of the three tested formulations with cricket powder was determined. Results. The populations analyzed showed an apparent positive attitude towards insect consumption. The overall acceptance of the “No cricket” sample was significantly lower than that of the “Cricket” and “Commercial” samples. The overall sensory liking score of the “12.5 % cricket powder” sample was significantly higher than that of the “26.0 % cricket powder” sample and was not significantly different from the “Commercial” sample. Consumers segments were identified by Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering. The main significant differences between samples in terms of nutritional analysis corresponded to crude fat and specific fatty acids contents. Conclusions. There is an apparent high consumer acceptance of sweet biscuits with cricket powder in Costa Rica. Evaluation of the nutritional profiles revealed differences in crude fat and specific fatty acids contents in the tested formulations, which increased as the cricket powder level in the formulations rose.