Acceptability of lamb fed on pasture, concentrate or combinations of both systems by European consumers

It is well known that the eating quality of lamb is highly affected by feeding systems. The aim of this Study was to ascertain acceptability of Uruguayan lamb meat from animals fed on different diets (only pasture-D1, only concentrate-D4 and two combinations of both systems-D3 and D4) by consumers from different European countries (Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and France). One hundred and twenty castrated Corriedale lambs were reared to 28.2 +/- 0.8 kg live weight and then thirty lambs were allocated to each diet and reared to 40 kg live weight. Sections of loin were cooked using contact grills until the internal temperature of the muscle reached 72 degrees C (65 degrees C in France), cut and then served to consumers. A minimum Of 180 consumers per Country evaluated overall liking, flavour and tenderness acceptability of lamb from the 4 diets in sessions of 10 consumers using 8-point category scales. Globally consumers preferred lamb fed on concentrate or the combination of concentrate and pasture to lamb fed only on pasture. However, different segments of consumers were identified in each country based on their lamb acceptability. This information contributes to the identification of developing different commercial strategies in relation to the consumer segments found. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.