Consumer Reports samples cricket-laden foods

NEW YORK (WABC) -- For centuries, insects have been included in traditional dishes around the world. Latin Americans eat cicadas, ants and even tarantulas, while South Africans put them in porridge.

And we all know that Mexican tequila lacks a certain something without that worm.

Now, Consumer Reports has taste tested insect-laden foods marketed in the U.S.

When we see someone eating bugs it's usually on a reality TV show.

New food companies are hoping Americans can overcome the ick factor, introducing cookies and snack bars made with cricket flour. One YouTube video promotes the Chapul bar.

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

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.

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

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 three to six cents an ounce, cricket flour costs about a dollar an ounce.