Vol. 10, Special Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
Shibin T Joseph, Sabin George, Vasudevan VN and Manju Sasidharan

Abstract:
The study was conducted to find out the consumer preference for pork chops of different fat thickness (2.5,3.5,4.5 cms), lean thickness (3 and 4 cms) and lean colour (dark, pale) in Thrissur and Kottayam districts of Kerala, with the help of a predetermined questionnaire and pictures of various meat chops available in the market. 17.4 percent of the total respondents selected chops having 3.5cm fat, 3cm lean and dark lean colour. Religious beliefs and cultural background were found to influence meat consumption. Consumers preferred to eat pork cooked at home (67.9 percent) while a smaller fraction opted to eat from restaurants (9.1 percent). Tenderness, taste, fat percent as well as nutritive value had strong impact on choosing the type of pork used for consumption. Frying was found to be the most preferred method of cooking.