This study investigates how visual appearance of pork cuts affects consumerpreference. Images of pork belly, Boston butt, and loin were chosen on the basisof visible fattiness and used to analyze consumers’ perception of theappearance of each pork cut. Meat color and visible fat proportion of images ofpork cuts were analyzed by the researchers before conducting the survey. A totalof 211 pork eaters evaluated the pork cuts based on appearance (lightness ofcolor, redness, visible fat proportion, and fat distribution), preferability,and overall acceptability. Also, muscle pieces from different pork cuts weretaken and the relative area composition of muscle fibers was measured. Based onsurvey results, correlation between visual traits and preferences of each porkcut was analyzed. The survey results showed that preferred pork appearancevaried as per each individual’s favorite pork cut. Also, the respondentsevaluated visual characteristics and preference for each pork cut differentlypossibly due to the different visual characteristics of each cut. Correlationanalysis between visual traits and preference indicated that overallacceptability of pork cuts was mainly influenced by fat preference, followed bycolor preference. Fat and color preferences for each pork cut were affected byvarious visual attributes including redness, lightness of color, visible fatproportion, and fat distribution, but their effects were considerably variedamong different pork cuts. Thus, Korean consumers perceived and assessed porkappearance using various quality cues but the evaluation depended on which cutwas being observed.
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