The variation in the eating quality of beef from different sexes and breed classes cannot be completely explained by carcass measurements

Bonny, Sarah; Hocquette, Jean-François; Pethick, D.W.; Farmer, L.J.; Legrand, I.; Wierzbicki, Jerzy; Allen, Paul; Polkinghorne, Rod; Gardner, G.E.

doi:10.1017/s175173111500292x

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…It has already been shown that such a system would be well accepted (Hocquette et al, 2011) and could be based upon the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) model (Watson et al, 2008a) which uses predictors such as carcase weight, ossification, rib fat and intramuscular fat to predict consumer eating quality. Indeed, Bonny et al (2016a and2016b) have previously shown that this model functions well when using European beef, with only minor adjustments. However, it is unclear if a single quality descriptor would be applicable to all European consumers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

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Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of European beef: 2. Demographic factors have only minor effects on consumer scores and willingness to pay

Bonny

Gardner

Pethick

et al. 2017

Animal

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The beef industry must become more responsive to the changing market place and consumer demands. An essential part of this is quantifying a consumer's perception of the eating quality of beef and their willingness to pay for that quality, across a broad range of demographics. Over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland and France each tasted seven beef samples and scored them for tenderness, juiciness, flavour liking and overall liking. These scores were weighted and combined to create a fifth score, termed the Meat Quality 4 score (MQ4) (0.3 × tenderness, 0.1 × juiciness, 0.3 × flavour liking and 0.3 × overall liking). They also allocated the beef samples into one of four quality grades that best described the sample; unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day or premium. After the completion of the tasting panel, consumers were then asked to detail, in their own currency, their willingness to pay for these four categories which was subsequently converted to a proportion relative to the goodevery-day category (P-WTP). Consumers also answered a short demographic questionnaire. The four sensory scores, the MQ4 score and the P-WTP were analysed separately, as dependant variables in linear mixed effects models. The answers from the demographic questionnaire were included in the model as fixed effects. Overall, there were only small differences in consumer scores and P-WTP between demographic groups. Consumers who preferred their beef cooked medium or well-done scored beef higher, except in Poland, where the opposite trend was found. This may be because Polish consumers were more likely to prefer their beef cooked well-done, but samples were cooked medium for this group. There was a small positive relationship with the importance of beef in the diet, increasing sensory scores by about 4% in Poland and Northern Ireland. Men also scored beef about 2% higher than women for most sensory scores in most countries. In most countries, consumers were willing to pay between 150 and 200% more for premium beef, and there was a 50% penalty in value for unsatisfactory beef. After quality grade, by far the greatest influence on P-WTP was country of origin. Consumer age also had a small negative relationship with P-WTP. The results indicate that a single quality score could reliably describe the eating quality experienced by all consumers. In addition, if reliable quality information is delivered to consumers they will pay more for better quality beef, which would add value to the beef industry and encourage improvements in quality.Keywords: consumer testing, beef, quality, demographics, Europe Implications A single quality descriptor of beef eating quality will likely be applicable to the entire European market due to the small impact of demographics on consumer scores. This descriptor could form the basis of an eating quality-based grading system for beef which would allow consumers to select beef of a desired quality when purchasing beef. As European consumers are also willing to pay more for better q...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The carcasses used for this experiment were described in detail by Bonny et al (2016a) and Legrand et al (2013). Briefly, the data set was formed through combining the records of a number of specific, smaller, experiments.…”

Section: Animals and Muscle Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of European beef: 2. Demographic factors have only minor effects on consumer scores and willingness to pay

Bonny

Gardner

Pethick

et al. 2017

Animal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The carcasses used for this experiment are described in detail by Bonny et al (2016a). Briefly, the data set was formed through combining the records of a number of specific, smaller, experiments.…”

Section: Animals and Muscle Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of beef: 1. A single composite score can predict beef quality grades

Bonny

Hocquette

Pethick

et al. 2017

Animal

Self Cite

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“…Much of the literature indicates that tenderness is the most important factor in determining consumer satisfaction (Verbeke et al 2010) even if, according to Bonny et al (2016Bonny et al ( , 2017, tenderness, flavour and overall liking appear to have similar weights. The fact that French people are generally satisfied with the quality of beef confirms the results of Normand et al (2014).…”

Section: Trends and Drivers Of Beef Consumption And Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, the beef industry must make progress in terms of offering meat that is more tender, and tastes better but also with a reduced variability in eating quality: it would be preferable that purchasing identical cuts of meat could give similar eating quality outcomes. Indeed, today, there is no clear link between the price of beef for the consumer and the taste quality of this meat in France (Normand et al 2014) as producers are paid based on the carcase characteristics (conformation and fattening), which have little relationship to the taste quality of the meat (Bonny et al 2016).…”

Section: Trends and Drivers Of Beef Consumption And Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meat consumption – what French consumers feel about the quality of beef?

Ellies-Oury

Lee

Jacob

et al. 2019

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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The first aim of this study conducted in France was to examine consumer habits concerning beef consumption, as well as any reasons, which may explain the relative decline in interest in beef consumption. Two surveys were conducted based on a sample of 625 beef consumers to analyse the frequency of their meat consumption and its evolution. The survey also aimed to explore consumers' understanding of the new labelling system, which was introduced in France in 2015 to indicate the eating quality potential of cuts with stars. Half of the respondents have reduced their beef consumption. Whereas inconsistency in eating quality is one reason among others which contribute to explain this decline, results showed that 70% of the respondents have not seen yet the new labels on beef. Nevertheless, this system represents a major progress for the French beef sector and should be developed further. Indeed, French consumers would be interested in a meat grading system based on tenderness as the one in Australia. Such a system could reduce the decline in beef consumption and even reverse this negative trend. HIGHLIGHTS The decline in meat consumption may be explained by the high price of beef, and concerns about health, environment, eating quality and animal welfare. A large proportion of the respondents (72%) is not aware of the new labelling system for beef in supermarket self-service aisles. Further developing this new system to a grading scheme similar to the 'Meat Standards Australia' would be judicious.

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The variation in the eating quality of beef from different sexes and breed classes cannot be completely explained by carcass measurements

Cited by 34 publications

References 28 publications

Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of European beef: 2. Demographic factors have only minor effects on consumer scores and willingness to pay

Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of European beef: 2. Demographic factors have only minor effects on consumer scores and willingness to pay

Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of beef: 1. A single composite score can predict beef quality grades

Meat consumption – what French consumers feel about the quality of beef?

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