Characterization and classification of Japanese consumer perceptions for beef tenderness using descriptive texture characteristics assessed by a trained sensory panel.
Meat tenderness is an important characteristic in terms of consumer preference and satisfaction. However, each consumer may have his/her own criteria to judge meat tenderness, because consumers are neither selected nor trained like an expert sensory panel. This study aimed to characterize consumer tenderness using descriptive texture profiles such as chewiness and hardness assessed by a trained panel. Longissimus muscles cooked at four different end-point temperatures were subjected to a trained sensory panel (n=18) and consumer (n=107) tenderness tests. Multiple regression analysis showed that consumer tenderness was characterized as 'low-chewiness and low hardness texture.' Subsequently, consumers were divided into two groups by cluster analysis according to tenderness perceptions in each participant, and the two groups were characterized as 'tenderness is mainly low-chewiness' and 'tenderness is mainly low-hardness' for tenderness perception, respectively. These results demonstrate objective characteristics and variability of consumer meat tenderness, and provide new information regarding the evaluation and management of meat tenderness for meat manufacturers.
National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), 2 Ikenodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan. Electronic address: ksuk@affrc.go.jp.
Keisuke
K
Sasaki
Michiyo
M
Motoyama
Takumi
T
Narita
Tatsuro
T
Hagi
Koichi
K
Ojima
Mika
M
Oe
Ikuyo
I
Nakajima
Katsuhiro
K
Kitsunai
Yosuke
Y
Saito
Hikari
H
Hatori
Susumu
S
Muroya
Masaru
M
Nomura
Yuji
Y
Miyaguchi
Koichi
K
Chikuni
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D044466:Asian People; D002417:Cattle; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D023381:Endpoint Determination; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature; D055815:Young Adult
Beef; Consumer perception; Japanese; Tenderness; Trained panel