Consumer assessment of eating quality – development of protocols for Meat Standards Australia (MSA) testing

Meat Standards Australia sought a consistent measure of the beef eating experience to the consumer. Rather than objective measurements or trained panel sensory assessment, it was decided to proceed with direct consumer assessment. Consumer-based assessment has much greater variation, but it has the decided advantage of validity. This paper summarises the path taken to obtain consistent consumer assessment. What meat samples to present to consumers? What responses to ask for? What to do with these responses when they were obtained? The answers to these questions have led to the MQ4 measure of consumer assessment of meat eating quality, which now forms the basis of the MSA predictive model.