How food disgust sensitivity influences perceptions of insects as food and feed: evidence from complementary quantitative and qualitative analysis

• Food disgust is inversely associated with acceptance of insects as both food and feed • Provision of information about the use of insects in food minimally changed sensory expectations • The willingness to accept insect as food/feed were determined by multiple motivational factors and familiarity • Food disgust overrode dietary orientation in the openness of consumers to accept insect as food • The naturalness fallacy of insects consumed by animals but not humans emerged in the discussions The role of food disgust on entamophagy acceptance is well established but further indepth analysis of how food disgust impacts other aspects that include a wider range of attitudes have been seldom investigated. The study employed a two-study mixed-methods approach to determine the impact of food disgust on consumer’s perceptions of insects as food and feed. In study one, an online questionnaire (N = 402) was deployed to determine the impact of food disgust on perceptions of insects as food and animal feed, familiarity, willingness to try foods containing insects, and sensory expectations. Food disgust inversely correlated with insects being acceptable as both food and feed. Individuals with higher food disgust had no willingness to try any foods with insects included. Providing information had a minor change on sensory expectations of hypothetical hamburgers with insects. In study two, participants were split into groups of low/high disgust and by five dietary orientations, and discussed topics concerning general attitudes towards traditional/alternative protein sources and insects as food/feed. Food disgust overrode differences in dietary orientation for participants’ attitudes towards insects as food. Themes including culture, sustainability, ethics, scepticism, hygiene, convention, and familiarity were identified. Themes of naturalness, food safety and ethics emerged in addition. The mixed-method approach revealed the reasons behind the general unwillingness to try insects and the types of barriers experienced towards insects as food.