title: Establishing tenderness thresholds of Venezuelan beef steaks using consumer and trained sensory panels.
abstract: The tenderness thresholds for ribeye steaks at 2d postmortem were found by using sensory trained (n=734 steaks) and consumers panel data (55 ribeye steaks and 296 consumers). Also, consumers' perceptions of sensory attributes of beef steaks were assessed to establish their relationships and to determine acceptability levels. The tenderness threshold obtained by regression analysis from trained panelists was 37.98N (3.87kg). Customer satisfaction of 81% was obtained when beef steaks had Warner-Bratzler shear force values (WBSF) less than 40.13N (4.09kg), suggesting that 40.13N could be considered as a tenderness threshold to segregate tough from tender steaks, for Venezuelan beef consumers. According to correlation and regression analyses, consumers focused on flavor to assign their overall liking score. Results suggest that consumers are able to detect changes in tenderness of steaks with different WBSF and that flavor drives customer satisfaction when the beef tenderness is acceptable.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Cátedra Ciencia y Tecnología de la Carne, Universidad del Zulia, Aptdo, 15252 Maracaibo, Venezuela; Department of Animal and Food Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodas-González
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huerta-Leidenz
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jerez-Timaure
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Miller