An international study, involving 11 participants in 7 European countries, was conducted
to provide scientific evidence for an objective measurement of boar taint in entire
male pigs and its possible variation between countries. The specific objectives were
to determine the respective contributions of androstenone and skatole to boar taint
and their possible variations according to production systems and consumer populations.
Over 4000 entire male pigs and 200 gilts were raised and slaughtered in 6 countries.
Meat samples were taken from the loin and backfat samples were used for the rapid
measurement of androstenone and skatole. A sub-population of 377 entire males and
42 gilts was then selected in such a way as to represent all combinations of skatole
and androstenone levels. Androstenone and skatole levels in the selected samples were
checked, using established reference methods. Meat samples from the selected animals
were used for sensory evaluation by trained panels and for consumer surveys in 7 European
countries. The present paper gives a general presentation of the programme and reports
the main characteristics of the samples. Three companion papers present the results
of the evaluation by trained sensory panels [Dijksterhuis, G., Engel, B., Walstra,
P., Font i Furnols, M., Agerhem, H., Fisher, K., Oliver, M. A., Claudi-Magnussen,
C., Siret, F., Béague, M. P., Homer, D. B., & Bonneau, M. (2000). An international
study on the importance of androstenone and skatole for boar taint: II. Sensory evaluation
by trained panels in seven European countries. Meat Science54, 261-269], the results
of the consumer surveys [Matthews, K. R., Homer, D. B., Punter, P., Béague, M. P.,
Gispert, M., Kemspter, A. J., Agerhem, H., Claudi-Magnussen, C., Fischer, K., Siret,
F., Leask, H., Font i Furnols, M., & Bonneau, M. (2000). An international study on
the importance of androstenone and skatole for boar taint: III. Consumer survey in
seven European countries. Meat Science, 54, 271-283] and the main conclusions and
recommendations [Bonneau, M., Walstra, P., Claudi-Magnussen, C., Kempster, A. J.,
Tornberg, E., Fischer, K., Diestre, A., Siret, F., Chevillon, P., Claus, R., Dijksterhuis,
G., Punter, P., Matthews, K. R., Agerhem, H., Béague, M. P., Oliver, M. A., Gispert,
M., Weiler, U., von Seth, G., Leask, H., Font i Furnols, M., Homer, D. B., & Cook,
G. L. (2000). An international study on the importance of androstenone and skatole
for boar taint: IV. Simulation studies on consumer dissatisfaction with entire male
pork and the effect of sorting out carcasses on the slaughter line, main conclusions
and recommendations. Meat Science, 54, 285-295]. Seasonal effects and differences
between countries in skatole and androstenone levels are presented elsewhere [Walstra,
P., Claudi-Magnussen, C., Chevillon, P., von-Seth, G., Diestre, A., Matthews, K. R.,
Homer, D. B., & Bonneau, M. (in press). An international study on the importance of
androstenone and skatole for boar taint: Levels of androstenone and skatole according
to country and season. Livestock Production Science]. A supplementary paper considers
the effects of human sensitivity to androstenone and skatole on the consumer acceptance
of entire male pork [Weiler, U., Font i Furnols, M., Fischer, K., Kemmer, H., Oliver,
M. A., Gispert, M., Dobrowolski, A., & Claus, R. (in press). Influence of differences
in sensitivity of Spanish and German consumers to perceive androstenone on the acceptance
of boar meat differing in skatole and androstenone concentrations. Meat Science].
A study of possible other compounds contributing to boar taint was also carried out
within this programme.