The Effect of Cricket Flour on the Quality of Gluten-Free Bread and the Choices of Consumers
Martynas Mačiulis, Aivaras Anužis, Eglė Purvaneckaitė
Keywords: gluten-free bread, cricket flour, quality, consumer choice, sensory analysis.
Abstract:
The growing world population requires more sustainable and efficient use of food resources. In response, the European Union included the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) in the 2018 list of novel foods, emphasising its high nutritional value and protein content. Cricket flour, produced from dried crickets, offers potential for improving the nutritional quality of various food products and can also be used in gluten-free bread, which is often characterised by poor sensory and nutritional properties. Despite these advantages, crickets remain an unusual and unfamiliar food source in Lithuania and Europe, posing challenges for consumer acceptance. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of enriching gluten-free bread with cricket flour on both bread quality and consumer choice. The research combined scientific literature analysis with empirical testing, including questionnaires, the 7-point hedonic scale, priority ranking, and sensory attribute intensity analysis. The findings revealed that adding cricket flour negatively affected several bread quality indicators, including porosity, volume, and specific volume. Sensory attribute intensity analysis demonstrated that higher concentrations of cricket flour increased the intensity of certain sensory properties, although consumers did not report significant differences in overall liking or priority rankings among the bread samples. Importantly, while consumers accepted cricket-flour-enriched gluten-free bread, hedonic scores remained moderate rather than high. The most valued characteristics of bread were identified as taste, aroma, and nutritional value. In conclusion, enriching gluten-free bread with cricket flour can enhance its nutritional profile, but further technological advances are needed to mitigate quality losses. Consumer testing suggests that the presence of cricket flour does not significantly alter consumer acceptance, indicating potential for wider application if product development addresses texture and volume challenges.
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