Consumers dislike boar taint related off-flavours in pork chops regardless of a meal context

- Consumers judged boar chops pure and within a meal presentation context.
- Full meal context enhanced expected liking but did not moderate taste acceptance.
- Liking of tainted boar chops is related to trained expert's fat score.
- Olfactory sorting of boars during quality control at slaughter appears reasonable.

This study investigated the acceptance of pork with varying levels boar-taint related off-flavours both, within a meat-alone (pure) and a meal context. In total, backfat samples of n = 24 animals were evaluated by a trained panel. The fat score was then related to the consumer liking of the pork chops. Repeated ANOVA of chop liking with consumer as a random factor (n = 37) and fat score as an interval predictor shows neither a main effect of context (dwithin = 0.015) nor the interactions of context with linear and quadratic coefficient of the fat score. The linear (b = − 0.20) and quadratic (b = − 0.24) coefficients of the fat score main effect demonstrate the necessity and effectiveness of sensory quality control at slaughter. The quadratic coefficient showed a distinct penalty for higher fat scores. Sensory defects detected by trained panellists may not be noticed by usually less sensitive consumers.