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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Meat Safety and Quality » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #135516

Title: THE ACCURACY AND REPEATABILITY OF TRAINED PANELISTS AND UNTRAINED, CONSUMERS IN DETECTING DIFFERENCES IN BEEF LONGISSIMUS TENDERNESS

Author
item Wheeler, Tommy
item Shackelford, Steven
item Koohmaraie, Mohammad

Submitted to: American Meat Science Association Conference Reciprocal Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2002
Publication Date: 7/28/2002
Citation: Wheeler, T.L., Shackelford, S.D., Koohmaraie, M. 2002. THE ACCURACY AND REPEATABILITY OF TRAINED PANELISTS AND UNTRAINED, CONSUMERS IN DETECTING DIFFERENCES IN BEEF LONGISSIMUS TENDERNESS.[Abstract] American Meat Science Association 55th Reciprocal Meat Conference Proceedings. July 28-31, 2002, East Lansing, Michigan. 2002 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the repeatability of untrained consumers and trained sensory panelists in detecting differences in beef longissimus tenderness. Strip loins from both sides of 96 carcasses were stored at 2°C for various times postmortem (to ensure variation in tenderness) and then frozen at -30°C. Slice shear force was measured on one steak from each strip and used to select 54 strip loins and assign 18 of them to each of three tenderness classes (tender = < 15 kg, intermediate = 15 to 27 kg, tough = > 27 kg). Sixty-eight untrained consumers and 12 trained descriptive attribute sensory panelists evaluated paired steaks from each tenderness class in each of two sessions (12 total observations per panelist). Mean slice shear forces for "tender," "intermediate," and "tough" were 11.1, 21.0, and 32.2 kg, respectively. Mean tenderness ratings of trained panelists were different (P < 0.05) among tenderness classes (6.5, 4.8, and 3.2 for "tender," "intermediate," and "tough," respectively). Mean tenderness ratings of untrained consumers were different (P < 0.05) among tenderness classes (6.2, 4.9, and 3.3 for "tender," "intermediate," and "tough," respectively). The correlations between slice shear force and the mean of 16 consumer tenderness ratings for each strip loin was high (r = 0.92). Overall repeatability of the consumer panel was 0.87. Repeatability of individual consumer panelists was highly variable: 32% > 0.80, 38% 0.60 to 0.79, and 34% < 0.60. Repeatability of individual trained panelists ranged from 0.55 to 0.99. The percentages of consumers that detected differences between "tender" and "intermediate," "intermediate" and "tough," and "tender" and "tough" were 23%, 33%, and 100%, respectively. The percentages of trained panelists that detected differences between "tender" and "intermediate," "intermediate" and "tough," and "tender" and "tough" were 33%, 33%, and 100%, respectively. Thirty-two percent of the consumers were both accurate (detected differences between adjacent classes) and repeatable (R > 0.75). There is wide variability in the ability of untrained consumers to detect differences in beef tenderness. Nonetheless, a consumer panel can accurately and repeatably detect differences in beef tenderness under controlled conditions.