Consumer perceptions of meat. Understanding these results through descriptive analysis.

Consumer perceptions of meals are investigated through qualitative and quantitative consumer studies. Qualitative studies add value and meaningful information to quantitative studies of meat. Among the important issues to consider in designing a quantitative consumer test for meats is the selection of terms to be used in a questionnaire. Additional terms besides tenderness, juiciness and flavor liking should be used to fully investigate consumer perceptions of meats. The limitations of consumer language is discussed. These limitations may be overcome through consumer-descriptive studies. These studies combine descriptive/sensory laboratory data with consumer information to decode consumer responses. The applications of this approach are: to achieve a more thorough interpretation and understanding of consumer responses, to provide more specific product guidance, to enable the prediction of consumer responses based on internal data (e.g. descriptive, instrumental), and to study different consumer segments.