Boar taint: The sensory perspective - Olfactory perception, consumer acceptance and trained sensory panel evaluation of boar taint

Boar taint: The sensory perspective - Olfactory perception, consumer acceptance and trained sensory panel evaluation of boar taint Fattening boars is regarded as an alternative to the surgical castration of male piglets but requires the control of so-called boar taint. Sensory aspects are considered within this article. Olfactory perception of androstenone and skatole is dealt with while consumer acceptance of boar meat and meat products is focused at. Results show that low fat cuts (loins) from boars are equally liked by consumers, though their androstenone levels exceed the former legislative threshold (0.5 mu g/g backfat) as long as skatole levels are low. As a consequence, consumer rejection thresholds need to be established with respect to the fat content of meat cuts and meat products from boars. Furthermore, selection and training of panelists for objective evaluation of boar meat is discussed. A test system based on paper smell strips is applied to assess human olfactory acuity using triangular tests. Results illustrate that panelists' sensitivity affects their sensory evaluation of boar meat. Highly sensitive panelists detect significantly higher androstenone odour in very lean boar loins compared to gilts and castrates when the androstenone level was about 1.5 to 2.0 mu g/g melted backfat. Furthermore, olfactory learning due to repeated exposure to androstenone is presented. Subsequently, as skatole is widely perceived negatively, it needs to be reduced by means of breeding, feeding and husbandry. Results confirm the potential use of marker assisted selection to reduce skatole levels in boars.