Emotional and sensory profiling of insect-, plant- and meat-based burgers under blind, expected and informed conditions

The use of edible insects as a potential component of food products is gathering interest among scientists, policy makers and the food industry. Although recent research suggests that a growing number of Western consumers might be willing to consume food products containing edible insects or insect-based protein, little is known about the influence of ingredient information on product evaluation. The aim of this study was to examine (i) the overall liking, perceived quality and nutritiousness, and (ii) the emotional and sensory profiling of three commercially available burgers (insect-based, plant-based and meat-based), under blind, expected and informed conditions. In total, 97 young adults took part in this experiment, divided into two sessions to assess the effect of blind tasting. The findings of the study revealed that although the overall liking for the insect burger was comparable to the liking for the plant based burger, further product development is needed to improve its sensory quality. Complete assimilation occurred for the insect-based burger, which shows that information influenced overall liking. In addition, the informed condition had little influence on emotional conceptualisations. Future research should further explore different informational strategies in order to obtain a better understanding on Western consumers' evaluation of insect-based products. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.