Traditional production and quality perception of grilled pork consumed in Benin

Abstract

Traditional grilled pork is a well appreciated ready-to-eat on the spot or takeaway food produced in Benin. This study, realized via field investigation, aimed to provide a better understanding of the traditional grilled pork production in Benin, for future improvement of the process and product quality for urban dwellers. The study showed most processors were men (85.6%), illustrating the particularity of this activity in the country where most street food vendors are women. They were also young (≤ 40 years - 63.9%), mainly from Goun and Fon sociocultural groups (59.5%), illiterate or primary school educated (72.3%). Indigenous pig breeds were preferred for processing (93.6%). Bristles elimination of the pig was carried out either by scalding or singeing. Among the eight grilling equipment recorded, vertical barrel grill was the most commonly used (46.8%) followed by locally made clay grills (28.7%). Wood (62.8%) and charcoal (37.2%) were the most used fuel for grilling. The diversity of equipment and methods used in traditional grilled pork production could be a source of quality variability of grilled pork in Benin. The texture was considered the suitable criteria to appreciate precooked (40.5%) and grilled pork (72.3%), while colour was used to appreciate fresh pork quality (53.2%). Key words: Pig meat, traditional grill, fuel, singeing, quality.