As part of the INTAQT project, the International Meat Research 3G (IMR3G) Foundation has designed and implemented a unique cross-country sensory experiment to explore a fundamental question: Is the preference for beef shaped by the nationality of the consumer?

To investigate this, 38 cattle from seven different production systems—including systems in Switzerland, Wales, Italy, France, and Spain—were selected. Each animal was sampled twice on the anterior part of the striploin, with each sample carefully coded by animal and position.

In this design, the same animal was tasted by consumers in two different countries—either France and Italy, France and Poland, or Italy and Poland. The IMR3G Foundation and INRAE coordinated the distribution of the meat so that half of each striploin sample was evaluated by 10 consumers in one country, and the other half by 10 consumers in another.

During the tastings, consumers rated the tenderness, juiciness, flavour, and overall liking of the beef on a scale from 0 to 100. This setup allows for direct comparison of consumer preferences for the same product across national borders.

In addition to sensory evaluation, the study also included an assessment of willingness to pay for different eating qualities of beef (unsatisfactory, good everyday, better than everyday and excellent). This allows researchers to examine whether the perceived value of beef varies across different national contexts.

By combining sensory scores with data on consumer demographics and price perceptions, the project aims to answer not only if nationality influences taste, but also:

Does the ratio of beef value change across different European countries? 

This research not only bridges sensory science and consumer economics, but it also brings us closer to understanding the role of culture, tradition, and market behaviour in shaping the way we value beef.

This is the first time such a cross-country consumer preference test has been conducted among France, Italy, and Poland using harmonised samples and standardised methods. The results will feed into a scientific abstract to be submitted to the ICoMST Congress 2025.

Stay tuned as we explore how taste travels across borders!