Consumer sensory requirements for beef and their implications for the Australian beef industry

Consumer sensory requirements for beef vary as a function of the market in which the product is being sold and, within any market, they can vary also over time. These conclusions are demonstrated using the Australian domestic and Japanese export markets as examples. In Australian studies, consumers buying meat for home consumption place more emphasis on leanness than do food service operators, with whom marbling rates more highly. Both household consumers and food service operators rate tenderness as the most important attribute of eating quality for cooked beef. This is followed by flavour. In a restaurant situation, marbled steaks (AUSMEAT score 2-3) have a higher acceptability than for home consumption. In the Japanese market, consumer-purchasing criteria are somewhat more sophisticated but tenderness is again the most important attribute of eating quality. This is perhaps surprising, considering the traditional cultural differences. It suggests that intrinsic factors in the consumer requirements for of beef may be similar worldwide.