Influence of differences in sensitivity of Spanish and German consumers to perceive androstenone on the acceptance of boar meat differing in skatole and androstenone concentrations

The reactions of German (n = 472) and Spanish (n = 480) consumers of the European boar taint study to boar meat were evaluated according to their androstenone sensitivity. Consumers were checked with pure substance for their androstenone sensitivity. Eighteen per cent of the German and 31% of the Spanish participants were highly sensitive to androstenone, with a significantly higher proportion of women. For insensitive/mildly sensitive consumers, skatole level was the main determinant for the rating of flavour and odour of pork. For highly sensitive consumers, androstenone significantly influenced the rating of odour (Spain and Germany) and flavour (Germany) and is the predominant problem for that group, due to the high percentage of carcasses with high androstenone levels. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.