Cross‐Cultural Consumer Acceptability and Purchase Intent of Forage‐Finished Rib‐Eye Steaks

Rib‐eye steaks, from 3 forage‐finished systems (S1, S2, and S3) and 1 commercial steak (C), either cooked by 1‐sided‐grilling or 2‐sided‐grilling, were evaluated for sensory acceptability [overall appearance (ORA) and overall appearance of fat (OAF) for raw steaks; overall appearance (OCA), overall beef aroma (OBA), overall beef flavor (OBF), juiciness, tenderness and overall liking (OL) for cooked steaks] and purchase intent by Hispanic, Asian and U.S. consumers. They also indicated preferred degree of doneness and cooking methods. Cross‐cultural differences in preferences and consumer acceptability of rib‐eye steaks were observed. Grilling was the most preferred cooking method. Hispanics and Asians preferred medium and/or medium well, while U.S. consumers preferred medium and/or medium rare. For cooked steaks, the population effect was significant for all sensory attributes; Asians generally scored lower than did Hispanics and U.S. consumers. C and S3 generally had higher scores for all sensory attributes across 3 populations. Purchase intent for all forage‐finished steaks was higher for Hispanics and U.S. consumers compared to Asians (50.0% to 77.8% compared with 43.2% to 65.9%). Attributes influencing purchase intent of forage‐finished steaks differed among populations: tenderness (odds ratio = 1.4) for Hispanics, OCA (odds ratio = 1.5) for Asians, and OBF (odds ratio = 1.3) for U.S. consumers. Overall, this study demonstrated that the type of forage‐finished system and ethnic differences influenced sensory acceptability and purchase intent of forage‐finished rib‐eye steaks.