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.