EVALUATION OF GLUTEN-FREE BARS MADE WITH HOUSE CRICKET (ACHETA DOMESTICUS) POWDER

The use of insects is a modern trend in the food industry with a positive impact on ecology and sustainability. Not only the popularity of eating whole insects is growing among consumers, but also products with an insect component are preferred more. It is also used in foods for special nutrition. Gluten-free bar made with cricket powder can represent a functional food stuff. The study shows that the addition of insects can increase the Total Polyphenol Content (24.78 mg GAE/ 100 g to 44.68 mg GAE/ 100 g) (p < 0.05). There is also an increase in antioxidant activity expressed as scavenging activity (%) for ABTS from 7.33 to 50.17, for DPPH 4.10 to 33.88 (p < 0.05). The influence of cricket powder was also recorded in the moisture content of the product, when the increased addition of insects led to a decrease in moisture content (R=0.89). Sensory evaluation showed overall acceptability for these bars. Texture, taste, appearance, aroma and overall pleasantness were compared. Although the protein bars without cricket content (Ctrl) had the highest overall pleasantness rating, it differed statistically significantly (p < 0.05) only from the sample with the highest cricket powder content (B25I).