An overlooked compound contributing to boar taint and consumer rejection of meat products: 2-Aminoacetophenone

Mainly skatole and androstenone have so far been considered causative for boar taint. Using a mixed methods approach it is shown herein that 2-aminoacetophenone (AAP) affects human perception of pork, too. We explored the importance of AAP in four trials: (1) chemical analyses of 221 fat samples from boar carcasses revealed that AAP occurs, on average, in similar quantities as skatole while the levels of androstenone being four-fold. (2) ranking tests with mixtures of androstenone and/or skatole with AAP presented on smell strips to trained sensory assessors showed that AAP amplifies boar odour. In order to study AAP's importance in meat products, four experimental variants of Lyon type sausage were then produced: a control, a product with added skatole (0.075 μg/g fat tissue), with added AAP (0.075 μg/g fat tissue), and with addition of both compounds. (3) results of a consumer discrimination test panel (n = 71) showed that, when added to a sausage system, APP causes a sensory difference of similar size as skatole while the methodology chosen affects the effect size: tetrad tests proved to be more sensitive than duo trio difference tests, in the tetrad test a sensory difference expressed as d’ (d-prime) of 1.0 was reached. (4) a hedonic consumer test (n = 121) finally revealed that APP decreased consumer liking of the APP-spiked sausage - even to a stronger extent than skatole. APP caused significant drops in smell, taste, mouth-feel, after-taste and overall liking in Lyoner.

Overall the findings suggest that, in the context of pork meat, AAP is of similar olfactory importance as skatole.