Texture‐modified meat for senior consumers varying meat type and mincing speed: effect of gender, age and nutritional information on sensory perception and preferences

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to develop three texture-modified, portion-sized and nutrient-dense meat products using 2 types of meat (beef and lamb) and 2 mincing speeds. The formulations included upcycled ingredients. Fat content was significantly higher for lamb than for beef samples. The three products had sufficient levels of nutrients per portion (80 g) to claim “high in protein”, “source of fibre”, “source of selenium” and “source of zinc”. The compression blade test showed differences between samples made using different mincing speeds. The lamb product had the lowest hardness in the multiple penetration test. Sixty-five senior consumers assessed the resulting sensory properties. Changing mincing speed did not alter the perception of sensory attributes. However, using different types of meat significantly affected the appearance and texture perception, with lamb samples obtaining the highest scores. The women rated the appearance of beef product higher (6.74) than men (5.93). Likewise, the female participants gave higher ratings to the aroma (6.40) than the males (5.43). The 50-59-year-old group considered the aroma of beef samples more appealing (6.5) than the over-60 group (5.5). A higher percentage of male than female participants described the beef samples as very easy to chew (63 vs 54%). A bigger proportion of the 50 to 59-year-old participants stated that the samples were very easy to swallow. After obtaining the nutritional information, the percentage of participants expressing willingness to consume the products increased significantly for all the types of texture-modified meat. Around 45% gave the lamb sample as their first choice. This study shows that combining the ingredient and process-based strategies can help improve the nutritional profile and acceptance of texture-modified meat products targeting senior consumers.