CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF REDUCED-FAT GROUND BEEF PRODUCTS1

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if products prepared with reducedfat ground beef were acceptable to college students. Three ground beef products (taco meat, spaghetti meat sauce, and meatballs) were prepared using standardized recipes and procedures. Three treatments per product were formulated with raw beef having different fat content; 20% fat, 10% fat, and 10% fat plus 10% fat replacer, respectively. The samples were rated on a 7-point hedonic scale. Students (N=160) were asked to taste and rate a set of samples without the knowledge of the fat content. They were then asked to fill out a survey which included questions about their attitudes and preferences toward reduced fat products. After completing the questionnaire, subjects were asked to taste a second set of samples with the different fat contents identified. For taco meat, statistical analysis showed that both of the reduced-fat formulations scored higher overall than the 20% fat formulation (P<.05). The spaghetti meat sauce scores for pre-knowledge samples were not significantly different, whereas samples with reduced-fat formulations scored higher than the 20% fat formulation (P<.05) in the post-knowledge samples. For meatballs, the 10% fat formulation generally had higher scores than the other two formulations. These results demonstrated that fat reduction in frequently consumed ground beef products can be accomplished while maintaining acceptability by consumers.