Consumer Reports taste tests cricket snacks

Insects are used in traditional dishes around the world. The hope is that the craze will catch on in America so Consumer Reports put some food items to the test.

A growing number of companies are introducing cookies and snack bars made with cricket flour.

A YouTube video promotes the Chapul bar.

"We thaw them out, we rinse them, we throw them on the sheets then we cook them and mill them down to a flour that goes into our energy bar," said Pat Crowley.

The bars each contain up to 40 dried, ground crickets.

According to the bar manufacturers, cricket flour has two times more protein than beef and 15 percent more iron than spinach.

In a blind test, Consumer Reports food experts answered the all-important question - how does it taste?

They sampled six snack bars from two manufacturers, as well as some cookies.

Could they detect any traces of insect? All of the testers said 'No.'

"For the most part the bars had pretty simple straightforward ingredient listings with things like fruits, nuts, honey, flax, and of course crickets," said Amy Keating, Consumer Reports nutritionist.

As for the cookies, they tasted more of coconut than crickets.

Consumer Reports advises that because crickets are closely related to shrimp, people with shellfish allergies should avoid products containing cricket flour.

It's worth noting that cricket flour doesn't come cheap. While regular flour is $0.03 to $0.06 an ounce, cricket flour costs about $1 an ounce.