Consumer acceptability of beef and lamb from Uruguay and Germany

As part of an international project, the consumer acceptance of Uruguayan and German beef and lamb was examined. Two groups of consumers from two German district towns (Kulmbach, Vechta - n = 100 each) were consulted. The meat samples originated from the respective breeds prevailing in each country, and from pasturing (Uruguay) or from high level feeding (Germany). Between the consumer judgments about Uruguayan and German samples, no salient differences exist if the meat is sufficiently aged. The lamb was judged surprisingly well, although 65% of the consumers indicated, never to consume lamb. Ageing for 20 days is essential particularly for beef, since the consumers detected a significant reduction in quality after a seven days ageing period. Noticeably, higher fat content was linked with better sensory classification at both meat types. Cluster analyses of judgements revealed that the overall acceptability of beef depends more on tenderness; in the case of lamb, it is determined more by flavour. According to age groups, the consumers evaluated the samples significantly different: The group of elderly rated more tolerantly than the other groups.