Danish consumers’ sensitivity towards the boar taint compounds androstenone and skatole

A future production of pork including meat from entire males is a realistic scenario for the major pig producing countries. To ensure that no boar tainted meat reaches the consumers, the only reliable preventive method is to detect and sort out the boar tainted carcasses at the slaughterhouse. One of the prerequisite for sorting at the slaughterhouse is reliable sorting limits based on consumer sensitivity. The aim of the work presented here was to describe the proportion of Danish consumers that are sensitive towards androstenon and the proportion highly sensitive towards skatole and further to investigate any age and gender effect on sensitivity. Consumers in the age interval of 15 99 years (n=1294) were tested using triangle tests with paper strips containing 20 ppm solution of androstenone and 0.15 ppm solution of skatole. The consumers were recruited in shopping malls, at schools and at companies in all major regions of Denmark. Sensitivity towards androstenone is age related. An increasing proportion of consumers are sensitive with increasing age up to 70 years, where after the sensitivity decreases. In total, between 19 and 38 % of the consumers are sensitive towards androstenone. More females than males are sensitive towards androstenone. Even though it is expected that most people can detect skatole, only 5-6% were classified as highly sensitive. This proportion was constant with age, and no difference between genders was