National Consumer Retail Beef Study: Palatability Evaluations of Beef Loin Steaks that Differed in Marbling

Top loin steaks from strip loins selected from 700 beef carcasses representing seven degrees of marbling (Slightly Abundant through Traces) were randomly assigned to untrained consumers (n = 180 per city) in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Kansas City. Statistical analyses revealed a significant marbling level x city interaction. As marbling level decreased from Slightly Abundant to Traces, consumers in San Francisco and Kansas City gave consistently high ratings that were only slightly reduced as marbling was decreased. Consumers in Philadelphia rated steaks with high marbling the same as those from the other cities, but ratings were sharply reduced as marbling decreased. Separate markets might need to be identified to more effectively reflect differences in consumers’ tastes among and within geographic areas of the United States.