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Web-based su ey o consume p e e ences o
he isual appea ance o mea om suckling kids
Guille mo Ripoll, Ma ía J. Alcalde, Anas asio A güello & Begoña Panea
To ci e his a icle: Guille mo Ripoll, Ma ía J. Alcalde, Anas asio A güello & Begoña Panea (2019)
Web-based su ey o consume p e e ences o he isual appea ance o mea om suckling kids,
I alian Jou nal o Animal Science, 18:1, 1284-1293, DOI: 10.1080/1828051X.2019.1649990
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/1828051X.2019.1649990
© 2019 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma
UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis
G oup.
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PAPER
Web-based su ey o consume p e e ences o he isual appea ance o
mea om suckling kids
Guille mo Ripoll
a
,Ma

ıa J. Alcalde
b
, Anas asio A g€
uello
c
and Bego~
na Panea
a
a
Unidad de P oducci
on y Sanidad Animal. Cen o de In es igaci
on y Tecnolog

ıa Ag oalimen a ia de A ag
on, Ins i u o Ag oalimen a io
de A ag
on –IA2 CITA, Uni e si yo Za agoza, Za agoza, Spain;
b
Depa amen o de Ciencias Ag o o es ales, Uni e si y o Se illa,
Se illa, Spain;
c
Depa amen o de P oducci
on Animal, Uni e si y o Las Palmas de G an Cana ia, Las Palmas, Spain
ABSTRACT
Mos suckling kids a e aised on a ms o ien ed owa d cheese p oduc ion, and many goa a m-
e s’ ea kids wi h milk eplace s. The aim o he cu en s udy was o in es iga e he consume
p e e ences o he isual appea ance o mea om suckling kids ea ed wi h milk eplace s o
na u al milk. Mea colou was he majo c i e ion used o selec mea . The mea o Cab a del
Guada ama ea ed wi h milk eplace s was p e e ed by 72% o consume s and had a p e e ed
ligh ness and hue angle. The ea ing sys em did no in luence p e e ence h ough he ime o
display. Web-based su eys p o ided simila in o ma ion o in o ma ion eco ded wi h li e su -
eys using ac ual p oduc s ins ead o pic u es. Mea colou appea s o be a ecu ing in insic
cue o assess consume p e e ence. In gene al, consume s p e e ed mea o ligh suckling kids
ea ed on milk eplace s because his mea had a high ligh ness and hue angle as well as a
low ch oma.
HIGHLIGHTS
Mea colou was he majo c i e ion used o choose mea .
Rea ing sys em did no in luence consume ’s p e e ence h ough ime o display.
Consume s p e e ed mea wi h high ligh ness and hue angle, and low ch oma.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 19 Feb ua y 2019
Re ised 30 May 2019
Accep ed 25 July 2019
KEYWORDS
Rea ing sys em; milk
eplace ; colou ; isual
app aisal; muscles; choice
In oduc ion
Consume beha iou is complex and is de e mined by
psychological, ma ke ing and senso y ac o s, and is-
ual appea ance is one ype o senso y ac o (Fon -i-
Fu nols and Gue e o 2014). The choice o mea a he
poin o pu chase is de e mined by isual appea ance
cha ac e is ics, such as colou and ma bling, because
hese in insic quali y cues a e highly ela ed o
expec a ions o mea quali y (Bano i
c e al. 2012).
F om hese cues, he appea ance o eshness and col-
ou has been epo ed o be he mos impo an
(Be nu
es e al. 2012; G acia and de Magis is 2013;
Ripoll e al. 2018b). Mea colou is de ined by he con-
cen a ion and chemical s a e o he muscle pigmen ,
which can be measu ed using he hue angle (h
ab
) and
ch oma (C
ab) pa ame e s o CIE Lab(Rene e 1982).
The e a e some s udies ela ing CIE Labcolou o
consume p e e ences, bu mos a e ocussed on bee
o hea y lambs (Khliji e al. 2010; Holman e al. 2016).
Howe e , consume colou p e e ences a e di e en
when assessing ed mea and ligh mea and conse-
quen ly use di e en colou cues. Thus, consume s o
hea y lambs p e e ed he eddes mea (Khliji e al.
2010), while consume s o ligh lambs p e e ed pale
mea (Be nu
es e al. 2012; Ripoll e al. 2018b). In bee ,
ap o ides he bes p edic ion o he consume
accep ance o colou (Holman e al. 2016), while C
ab is
an impo an indica ion o colou (Ripoll e al. 2012).
Albe 
ıe al. (2002) used an a i icial in elligence algo-
i hm o ind a unc ion yield a sco e bee om 1
(ligh pink mea ) o 5 (da k ed mea ). The unc ion
ound selec ed Land h
ab
as he mos explana o y
a iables. Also, Liu e al. (1996) ecommend he use o
h
ab
because i is p ecise and easily unde s andable.
The ela ionship be ween consume s isual app aisal
and ins umen al colou emains unclea . Howe e , in
CONTACT D . Guille mo Ripoll [email p o ec ed] Cen o de In es igaci
on y Tecnolog

ıa Ag oalimen a ia de A ag
on (CITA), A da, Mon a~
nana 930,
50059 Za agoza, Spain.
Supplemen al da a o his a icle can be accessed he e.
ß2019 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which pe mi s
un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
2019, VOL. 18, NO. 1, 1284–1293
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/1828051X.2019.1649990
o de o gain g ea e knowledge on he subjec , a
s udy should be ca ied ou wi h a g ea e a ie y o
ypes o mea . Hence, Lis he mos impo an CIE
Lab pa ame e used o he consume judgemen o
ligh suckling kid mea (Ripoll e al. 2018a). This mea
is cha ac e ised by high Land h
ab
and low
C
ab (Mo ales-De la Nuez e al. 2011; De Palo
e al. 2015).
Spain is a g ea p oduce o kid mea , and 80% o
his kid mea o igina es om he ligh suckling kid ca -
ego y (MAPAMA 2016). Mos o he suckling kids a e
aised on milk a ms o ien ed owa d cheese p oduc-
ion. When goa s a e suckling hei kids, he milk p o-
ein and a quan i y and quali y dec ease (Ca a aca
e al. 2004). As a esul , some goa a me s emo e
he kids om hei dams a a e y young age and ea
hem wi h milk eplace s. Howe e , some a me s s ill
ea kids wi h hei dams because hey belie e ha
he mea om suckled kids is mo e ende han he
mea om kids ea ed on a i icial suckling sys ems
(A g€
uello e al. 2005). The p oxima e composi ion o
milk could modi y kid mea colou , and, consequen ly,
his could a ec he consume p e e ence (Ripoll e al.
2018a). Some s udies ha e shown ha he leg chops
o kids ea ed wi h milk eplace s we e p e e ed by
consume s because he mea was pale and dull, wi h
a g ea e hue angle and a lowe edness and ch oma
(Ripoll e al. 2018a).
Mos o he s udies examining consume isual
app aisal a e ca ied ou wi h eal p oduc ; ne e he-
less, his echnique is expensi e and ime-consuming,
and, because o his, o he echniques ha e been
de eloped in ecen yea s. Web-based su eys using
pic u es ha e been demons a ed as a alid me hod
o ela e he ins umen al colou o mea o consume
isual app aisal (Holman e al. 2016). A he same
ime, he lack o ep esen a i eness o he s udied
popula ion, which was he p incipal weakness o web
su eys, is quickly disappea ing each yea as mo e
people a ound he wo ld gain in e ne access (E ans
and Ma hu 2005,2018).
Consequen ly, he aim o he cu en s udy was o
s udy consume p e e ence o he isual appea ance
o mea om suckling kids ea ed wi h milk eplace s
o na u al milk as well as o de e mine he choice c i-
e ia used du ing he p ocess.
Ma e ials and me hods
Ca case sampling
All p ocedu es we e conduc ed acco ding o he
guidelines o Di ec i e 2010/63/EU on he p o ec ion
o animals used o expe imen al and o he scien i ic
pu poses (E.U. 2010).
Suckling male kids o he Cab a del Guada ama,
Majo e a, Palme a, and Tine e~
na b eeds ea ed wi h
milk eplace s (MR) o na u al milk om hei dams
(NM) we e selec ed om wo a ms o each b eed.
Six een kids pe b eed we e ed NM; and 15 kids we e
ed MR o Guada ama and Palme a while, and 16
kids we e ed MR o Majo e a and Tine e~
na. The kids
we e slaugh e ed ollowing s anda d comme cial p o-
cedu es acco ding o he Eu opean no ms o he p o-
ec ion o animals a he ime o killing (E.U. 2009).
The kids had a li e weigh o 8.2 ± 0.1 kg and an age
o 40–45 days old. A head-only elec ical s unning
(1.00 A) was applied o he kids, and hey we e hen
exsanguina ed and d essed. The kids had an a e age
ho ca case weigh o 4.5 ± 0.1 kg. The ca cases we e
hung by he Achilles endon and chilled o 24 h a
4C in o al da kness. The igh hind leg was sepa-
a ed om he ca case, acuum packed and s o ed a
–20 C un il sampling.
Ins umen al colou measu emen o he chops
The shel li e o he mea o suckling lambs and kids is
app oxima ely one week (Alcalde e al. 2017). Because
o he e y small size o he kid legs, only ou o he
leg chops we e su icien ly la ge enough o measu e
he colou o he di e en muscles. Wi h hese boun-
da ies, we used a e e sed s o age design (Gim
enez
e al. 2012). Hence, he 126 ozen legs we e sliced
in o ou 2-cm hick chops and assigned o 8, 6, 3,
and 1 days be o e aking a pic u e (day 0). On he
assigned day, he chops we e hawed and placed in
expanded polys y ene ays co e ed wi h e ac ile
oxygen-pe meable plas ic ilm (wa e apou pe me-
abili y: 10 g m
22
24
21
h, oxygen ansmission a e:
200 cm
3
m
22
24
21
h, CO
2
ansmission a e:
650 cm
3
m
22
24
21
h; LINPAC Packaging Limi ed,
Fea he s one, UK). Then, he chops we e s o ed o
24 h a 4 C in o al da kness un il he day o pic-
u e cap u e.
Muscle colou s we e measu ed a 0% UV wi h an
obse e angle o 10and ze o and whi e calib a ion
using a Minol a CM-2006d spec opho ome e (Konica
Minol a Holdings, Inc., Osaka, Japan) in CIE Lab
1986 space wi h he specula componen included.
The measu emen a ea (diame e o 8 mm) was co -
e ed wi h a CM-A149 dus co e (Konica Minol a
Holdings, Inc., Osaka, Japan). The illuminan used was
D65. The ligh ness (L), edness (a) and yellowness
(b) indexes we e eco ded using he so wa e
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 1285
Spec aMagic NX (Minol a Co. L d., Osaka, Japan), and
he hue angle hab ¼ an1b
a

180
p
hi
and ch oma
C
ab ¼ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
a
ðÞ
2þb
ðÞ
2
q

we e calcula ed. The colou
o he semimemb anosus,semi endinosus and biceps
emo is leg muscles we e measu ed because hey ep-
esen mos o he chop a ea. Colou measu emen s
we e epea ed h ee imes, and he spec opho om-
e e was o a ed on he ho izon al plane be o e each
measu emen . The mean o he h ee eadings was
used o s a is ical analysis.
Cap u e o he images o he chops
Following each measu emen , he chops we e indi-
idually posi ioned in a Cubeli e Las oli e po able s u-
dio (Vi ec Imaging Dis ibu ion UK, Leices e shi e, UK)
abo e a black backg ound. The s udio was placed
benea h wo ligh bulbs wi h i e C omali e bulbs
(C omali e S.L, Ba celona, Spain). Each ligh bulb con-
ained 28 W, 5.200 K, and 1.600 lm, deli e ing 1.200
a e age lx o he sample su ace. An Olympus Pen E-
PL1 12.3 Mpx came a wi h a M. Zuiko digi al
14–42mm 1:3.5–5.6 L lens (Olympus Imaging Co p.,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) was placed o e head he sample
wi h a ipod. The came a’s exposu e se ings we e
manually adjus ed o an ISO o 400, a lens ape u e o
F5.6 and a shu e speed o 1:125. All images we e
downloaded in aw o ma , and no lash, il e s o
o he lenses we e applied. Addi ionally, no o he
image edi ing o p ocessing o manipula ion was
applied o he han he c opping o he image.
When he chop colou was measu ed and all chops
we e pho og aphed, an asso men o pic u es was
selec ed o he su eys. The chops wi h L,h
ab
and
C
ab alues ep esen a i e o hei b eed and ea ing
sys ems we e selec ed o isual app aisal by consum-
e s. L,h
ab
and C
ab we e chosen because hese
pa ame e s a e simila o he colou pe cep ion o
human beings (Ripoll e al. 2012).
Su ey design and dissemina ion
Two su eys we e designed o his s udy. The geo-
g aphical scope o he su eys was es ic ed o Spain,
uling ou he esponses o consume s om o he
coun ies. This s udy was conduc ed using an online
su ey se ice (www.encues a acil.com), and he su -
ey da a we e con e ed o an MS Excel shee . The
ques ionnai es we e es ed by esea che s who may o
may no ha e been in ol ed in he s udy and adap ed
un il he inal e sion was app o ed. Mo eo e , a
comp omise had o be eached be ween ho ough-
ness, simplici y, and sho ness.
The ques ionnai es we e dis ibu ed using social
media websi es, uni e si y mailing lis s and su ey
mailing lis s. A di ulga ion message was included ha
asked ecei e s o u he b oadcas he web link o
o he pe sons in hei espec i e elec onic mailing
lis s. Fo hose ecei e s willing o pa icipa e in he
su ey, he su ey welcome page was immedia ely
accessible a e hey clicked on he web link. The
ques ionnai e was anonymous o gua an ee a highe
le el o pa icipa ion and hones y. Pe sonal da a, such
as iden i ica ion o elec onic mail add ess, we e no
equi ed, and he e was no inancial compensa ion.
Pa icipan s we e clea ly in o med o he aim o he
s udy and ga e implici consen o he use o hei
supplied in o ma ion in he esea ch acco ding o
Eu opean egula ions (U.E. 2010). This s udy was con-
duc ed acco ding o he Decla a ion o Helsinki o
s udies on human subjec s.
The su eys comp ised se e al se s o pic u es o
chops om di e en ea ing sys ems and imes o dis-
play bu o simila b eeds, and he esponden had o
choose he pic u e wi h hei p e e ed chop. The
e ec s o he ea ing sys em and ime o display we e
es ed wi h he i s su ey (Su ey RS þTD). This su -
ey only used pic u es o Cab a del Guada ama, and
eigh se s o ou pic u es each we e shown o
esponden s. The ime o display was compa ed in
ou se s o pic u es, and he ea ing sys em wi hin
each ime o display was compa ed in he o he ou
se s o pic u es. A second su ey (Su ey RS) was con-
duc ed o s udy he e ec o he ea ing sys em
in ol ing he ou b eeds a 1 days o display.
The e o e, ou se s o wo pic u es we e shown, and
consume s we e asked o choose be ween he ea ing
sys ems wi hin each b eed. The chop shape and size
we e balanced wi hin and be ween he pic u e se s.
Ques ionnai e and pic u es a e shown in
Supplemen a y Apppendix A. Bo h su eys had a com-
mon sociodemog aphic sec ion. The in o ma ion ga h-
e ed in his sec ion included gende (woman, man),
age (<25 yea s, be ween 26 and 40 yea s, be ween 41
and 55 yea s, and >55 yea s), li ing en i onmen ,
‘Ha e you e e as ed mea om ligh suckling kids?’
(yes/no), and ‘I he esponse is yes, do you like i ?’
(yes/no). A las ques ion common o bo h su eys
asked abou he choice c i e ia used o selec he pic-
u e o he p e e ed chop. The op ions we e (a) mea
colou , (b) a colou , (c) mea b igh ness, (d) chop
size, and (e) chop shape.
1286 G. RIPOLL ET AL.
S a is ical analysis
Fo bo h su eys, he
2
es was used o analyse he
equencies o consume answe s (gende , age, he c i-
e ia used o choose he pic u es, he equency o
consume s who had p e iously as ed mea om ligh
suckling kids, and he equency o people who liked
he mea om ligh suckling kids). Pic u e selec ion
acco ding he ea ing sys em, ime o display and
b eed we e also es ed using he
2
es , as we e he
c i e ion used o pic u e selec ion acco ding o b eed.
The le el o signi icance was 0.05. When one o he
cells had a equency o less han i e, which makes
he use o he
2
s a is ic unad isable, he likelihood
a io s a is ic was used a he same p obabili y le el.
To in e p e he pa e ns o associa ion be ween he
s udied a iables, he co ec ed s anda dised esidual
be ween he obse ed and expec ed cases wi hin
each cell g ea e han j1.96jwas conside ed.
Ins umen al colou a iables we e analysed wi h an
analysis o a iance wi h ea ing sys em, muscle and
b eed as ixed e ec s. The Duncan es was used o
compa e means, and he le el o signi icance
was p<.05.
Resul s
Sample cha ac e isa ion and he choice c i e ia
used by consume s
The su ey RS þTD, which in es iga ed he e ec s o
he ea ing sys em and ime o display, was comple ed
by 186 consume s, and he su ey RS, which in es i-
ga ed he e ec s o he ea ing sys em, was com-
ple ed by 399 consume s. The gende dis ibu ions in
he RS þTD and RS su eys we e simila (
2
¼0.02;
p<.9), wi h 59% and 60% women, espec i ely.
Simila ly, bo h su eys had he same dis ibu ion o
ages (
2
¼3.2; p¼.3). The e we e 14% and 19% o
people be ween 18 and 25 yea s, 30% and 29%
o people be ween 26 and 40 yea s, 40% and 34% o
people be ween 41 and 55 yea s and 17% and 18% o
people olde han 55 yea s in he RS þTD and RS su -
eys, espec i ely. Popula ion o Spain we e 51%
woman, and he e we e 10% o people be ween 18
and 25 yea s, 27% o people be ween 26 and 40 yea s,
30% o people be ween 41 and 55 yea s and 25% o
people olde han 55 yea s (INE 2016). The e o e,
younge people and olde people we e unde - and
o e ep esen ed al hough bo h in e media e seg-
men s we e well ep esen ed. Eigh y-eigh pe cen o
he esponden s had as ed mea om ligh suckling
kids, and he e was no di e ence in his numbe
be ween he su eys (
2
¼1.26; p¼.3). F om hese
esponden s, 94% con i med ha hey liked his mea ,
also wi hou di e ences be ween he su eys
(
2
¼1.9; p¼.2).
The c i e ia used by he esponden s o choose
hei p e e ed chops a e shown in Figu e 1. The
choice c i e ia we e di e en o each su ey
(
2
¼23.5; p<.001), bu mea colou was he majo
c i e ion o bo h su eys. A signi ican ly highe pe -
cen age o esponden s in su ey RS (82%) used mea
colou as a c i e ion han ha in su ey RSþTD (60%).
Howe e , mo e esponden s o su ey RS þTD used
a colou (12%) and chop shape (11%) as c i e ion
han did he esponden s o su ey RS (6% and 3%,
espec i ely). Mea b igh ness and chop size we e less
equen ly used and did no show di e ences (p>.05)
be ween he su eys, wi h 5% and 3% o esponden s,
espec i ely. The choice c i e ion was no condi ioned
by gende , age o he li ing en i onmen o he con-
sume on bo h su eys (p>.2).
Consume p e e ence and he ins umen al colou
o he chops displayed o 8 days
The pe cen age o he chops p e e ed by he su ey
RS þTD esponden s acco ding o he ea ing sys em
and ime o display a e shown in Figu e 2. The
esponden s simila ly chose bo h ea ing sys ems
h ough he ime o display (p>.05), bu he ea ing
sys em and he ime o display a ec ed he pe cen -
age o p e e ed chops (p<.0001). The chops a
7 days o display we e signi ican ly less p e e ed
(p<.05) han he chops a o he display imes. The
chops displayed o 3 days we e he mos p e e ed,
al hough his p e e ence was no s a is ically ele an
4
5
3
6
82
2
5
11
12
69
0 1020304050607080
Chop size
Mea b igh ness
Chop shape
Fa colo
Mea colo
Pe cen age o esponden s
Su ey RS+TD
Su ey RS
*
*
*
Figu e 1. Choice c i e ia used by he esponden s wi hin each
su ey. Su ey RS þTD compa ed he ea ing sys ems and
ime o display, and su ey RS compa ed he ea ing sys ems.
The dis ibu ion o equencies o each su ey was independ-
en (
2
¼23.5; p<.001). The obse ed equencies wi h as e -
isks a e signi ican ly di e en (p<.05) be ween su eys.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 1287

(p>.05). The chops om he kids ed MR we e p e-
e ed in 72% o consume s, while 28% p e e ed he
chops om he kids ed NM (p<.0001). The ea ing
sys em p e e ence was no a ec ed (p>.4) by age,
gende , o he li ing en i onmen o consume s a any
ime o display.
The ins umen al colou o he chops shown o he
consume s in su ey RS þTD is shown in Table 1.
The e we e no signi ican in e ac ions be ween he
s udied e ec s (p>.05) o any a iable. The ea ing
sys em a ec ed all a iables (p<.05). The mea om
he kids ed MR had a g ea e L,b
h
ab
and a lowe
aand C
ab:The e o e, he di e ence in colou
be ween MR and NM was DE
ab¼4. The ime o dis-
play also a ec ed all colou a iables (p<.05).
Ligh ness inc eased sligh ly om 1 o 8 days (p<.05).
Con e sely, edness dec eased s eadily o e he ime
o display, wi h signi ican di e ences om 1 o
8 days (p<.05). Yellowness and hue angle showed
simila pa e ns, wi h a sligh dec ease om 1 o
6 days (p>.05) and an inc ease om 6 o 8 days
(p<.05). The ch oma dec eased om 3 o 6 days
(p<.05) and inc eased om 6 o 8 days (p<.05). The
h ee muscles had simila Land a(p>.05). The BF
and SM muscles had simila b,h
ab
and C
ab (p>.05),
while he ST muscle was di e en om bo h he BF
and SM muscles (p<.05).
Consume p e e ence and he ins umen al colou
o he chops om he ou b eeds
The pe cen age o he chops p e e ed by he su ey
RS esponden s acco ding he ea ing sys em and
choice c i e ia a e shown in Table 2. The o al pe cen -
age o he selec ion o NM was highe (52.3%) han
ha o MR (
2
¼6.7; p¼.009). Howe e , he
p e e ence o he ea ing sys em was no he same
o each b eed (
2
¼84.1; p<.0001). As a esul , con-
sume s p e e ed he chops om he Cab a del
Guada ama ed NM and he chops om he Palme a
and Tine e~
na ed MR (p<.05). The e was no p e e -
ence o he ea ing sys em o Majo e a (p>.05). The
p e e ence o he ea ing sys em was no a ec ed
(p>.5) by age, gende , o he li ing en i onmen o
consume s a any ime o display. Howe e , he choice
c i e ia also a ec ed he pe cen age o p e e ed
chops. The e o e, he consume p e e ence, using
Table 1. Ins umen al colou o he leg chops om he Cab a
del Guada ama kids ea ed wi h milk eplace (MR) o na u al
milk om hei dams (NM).
Labh
ab
C
ab
Rea ing sys em
MR 42.70 7.34 6.77 40.85 10.80
NM 39.54 9.98 5.84 29.74 11.60
SE 0.395 0.254 0.254 1.291 0.260
Time o display
1 day 40.30
b
9.91
a
6.71
ab
34.31
ab
12.14
a
3 days 40.96
b
8.86
ab
6.11
ab
34.39
ab
10.95
a
6 days 41.12
ab
8.17
b
5.43
b
32.99
b
9.95
b
8 days 42.20
a
8.49
b
6.90
a
39.35
a
11.17
a
SE 0.586 0.375 0.376 1.910 0.351
Muscle
Biceps emo is 41.18 8.60 5.65
b
32.86
y
10.40
y
Semimemb anosus 40.59 8.74 5.94
b
34.55
y
10.66
y
Semi endinosus 41.59 9.23 7.32
x
38.48
x
11.92
x
SE 0.472 0.301 0.302 1.537 0.310
Signi icance
†
Rea ing sys em <0.001 <0.001 0.006 <0.001 0.001
Time o display 0.041 0.025 0.018 0.019 0.009
Muscle 0.283 0.265 <0.001 0.023 0.001
Pic u es o hese leg chops we e used on su ey RS þTD ( ea ing sys em
and ime o display).
a
: edness; b: yellowness; C
ab :ch oma; hab :hue angle; L: ligh ness;
SE: s anda d e o :
†
In e ac ions we e no signi ican (p>.05).
Di e en supe sc ip s (a and b) indica e signi ican di e ences be ween
imes o display (p<.05).
Di e en supe sc ip s (x, y) indica e signi ican di e ences be ween
muscles (p<.05).
hab ¼ an1b
a

180
p;C
ab ¼ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
a
ðÞ
2þb
ðÞ
2
q
Table 2. Pe cen ages o he p e e ence o he ea ing sys-
ems in he gene al sample (
2
¼84.1; p<.0001) and he
consume s ha used mea colou (
2
¼80.4; p<.0001) and
a colou (
2
¼13.0; p¼.005) as decision c i e ia.
Choice c i e ia
Gene al sample Mea colou Fa colou
B eed MR NM MR NM MR NM
Cab a del Guada ama 29.3 70.726.5 73.544.0 56.0
Majo e a 48.1 51.9 48.5 51.5 32.0 68.0
Palme a 60.439.6 58.541.5 80.020.0
Tine e~
na 52.947.1 53.047.0 60.040.0
To al 47.7 52.3 46.6 53.4 54.0 46.0
MR: milk eplace ; NM: na u al milk.
Pe cen ages highe om he expec ed (p<.05).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1368
Time o display, d
*
30.4 41.9 22.0 5.6 28 72
NM MR
Rea ing sys em
*
*
Figu e 2. Pe cen age o he Cab a del Guada ama chops p e-
e ed by consume s acco ding o he ime o display
(
2
¼208.4; p<.0001) and ea ing sys em (
2
¼144.6;
p<.0001). NM, na u al milk; MR, milk eplace . The obse ed
equencies wi h as e isks a e signi ican ly di e en (p<.05)
om he expec ed equencies.
1288 G. RIPOLL ET AL.
mea colou as a c i e ion, was di e en acco ding o
he b eed (
2
¼80.4; p<.0001). Consume s also p e-
e ed he chops om he Cab a del Guada ama ed
NM and he chops om he Palme a and Tine e~
na
ed MR (p<.05), bu wi h di e en p opo ions han
he o al consume sample. Howe e , when conside -
ing a colou (
2
¼13.0; p¼.005), consume s also p e-
e ed he Palme a and Tine e~
na ed MR (p<.05) bu
p e e ed he Majo e a ed NM (p<.05). Addi ionally,
he consume s did no show a p e e ence o any ea -
ing sys ems when choosing he chops o Cab a del
Guada ama (p>.05). Finally, when conside ing mea
b igh ness (
2
¼4.2; p¼.2), chop shape (
2
¼1.7;
p¼.6) and chop size (
2
¼1.1; p¼.8), consume s did
no p e e one ea ing sys em mo e han ano he .
The ins umen al colou a 1 day o display o he
chops shown o he consume s in su ey RS is shown
in Table 3. The e we e no signi ican in e ac ions
be ween he s udied e ec s (p>.05) o any a iable.
The ea ing sys em a ec ed all a iables (p<.05)
excep b(p¼.4). The mea om he kids ed MR had
a g ea e L,b
,h
ab
, and a lowe aand C
ab:
The e o e, he di e ence in he colou be ween MR
and NM was DE
ab¼2.4. In gene al, hese esul s a e
consis en wi h hose o su ey RS þTD. The b eed
a ec ed all a iables (p<.05). Cab a del Guada ama
was clea ly di e en compa ed wi h he o he b eeds
because hey had a lowe L, b, and h
ab
, and a highe
a and C
ab (P<0.05). Majo e a, Tine e~
na and Palme a
had simila band h
ab
(P>0.05). Majo e a and
Palme a had di e en L,a
, and C
ab (p<.05), while
Tine e~
na had in e media e alues among he b eeds
(p>.05). The e we e di e ences in L,b
, and C
ab
(p<.05) be ween he muscles. As in he esul s no ed
when chops we e shown o consume s in su ey
RS þTD, he di e ences be ween he SM and BF
muscles we e highe han he di e ences be ween he
BF and SM. Hence, ST had a highe L,a
, and C
ab
(p<.05) han SM, while BF had in e media e alues o
C
ab (p>.05) and simila alues o Land b o
SM (p>.05).
Discussion
The e is a well- ounded consensus in he li e a u e
ha he p incipal c i e ion used in mea choice is col-
ou due o i s ela ionship wi h eshness (Kubbe ød
e al. 2002; Be nu
es e al. 2012; G acia and de
Magis is 2013; Ripoll e al. 2018b). Howe e , isible
a con en is also a main cue used o assess mea
quali y (Kubbe ød e al. 2002; Bano i
c e al. 2016).
Ne e heless, mea om ligh suckling kids has no
appa en a . Consequen ly, in bo h su eys, colou
was he mos impo an cue. Mea om ligh suckling
kids has high Land low aand b alues. The e o e,
his mea is ligh e , pale and dulle (Mo ales-De la
Nuez e al. 2011; De Palo e al. 2015) han he mea o
hea y suckling kids (Ozcan e al. 2014; Yakan e al.
2016) and o concen a e- ed kids (Emami e al. 2015).
Because o his paleness, i could be expec ed ha
‘mea b igh ness’was used as a c i e ion by mo e con-
sume s, as L(ligh ness) has been epo ed as he
main colou a iable used by consume s o assess
suckling kid mea (Ripoll e al. 2018a). In addi ion o
L, consume s assessed he appea ance o he whole
chop a he han he indi idual muscles and ocussed
on h
ab
(Ripoll e al. 2018a). The ela ionship be ween
he isual app aisal o mea colou and Lhas been
epo ed p e iously (Eikelenboom e al. 1992;
Denoyelle and Be ny 1999; Hulsegge e al. 2001). In
con as , bis no na u ally associa ed wi h mea col-
ou (Mancini e al. 2005; Ripoll e al. 2012), and i s use
by human beings is unclea (O’Sulli an e al. 2003).
Khliji e al. (2010) only used Land a o sco e lamb
mea . Holman e al. (2017) epo ed aas he bes
p edic o o consume accep ance o bee , bu h
ab
and
C
ab inc eased he p edic ion p ecision.
Table 3. Ins umen al colou o he leg chops om he kids
o he ou b eeds ea ed wi h milk eplace (MR) o na u al
milk om hei dams (NM) a 1 days o display.
Labh
ab
C
ab
Rea ing sys em
MR 45.48 6.03 8.22 54.89 10.45
NM 43.59 7.54 8.00 47.44 11.32
SE 0.462 0.337 0.225 1.770 0.240
B eed
Cab a del Guada ama 40.27
c
9.88
a
6.68
b
34.34
b
12.04
a
Majo e a 45.07
b
6.53
b
8.74
a
53.52
a
11.02
b
Palme a 46.87
a
4.95
c
8.31
a
59.98
a
9.87
c
Tine e~
na 45.93
ab
5.78
bc
8.60
a
56.82
a
10.59
bc
SE 0.618 0.466 0.307 2.494 1.5630
Muscle
Biceps emo is 44.15
y
7.05 8.09
y
50.04 11.01
xy
Semimemb anosus 43.53
y
6.77 7.17
z
48.23 10.24
y
Semi endinosus 45.92
x
6.54 9.01
x
55.22 11.41
x
SE 0.350 0.397 0.174 2.122 0.288
Signi icance†
Rea ing sys em 0.003 0.002 0.400 0.040 0.014
B eed <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001
Muscle 0.006 0.664 <0.001 0.060 0.017
Pic u es o hese leg chops we e used on su ey RS ( ea ing sys em).
a: edness; b: yellowness; C
ab :ch oma; hab :hue angle; L: ligh ness;
SE: s anda d e o :
†
In e ac ions we e no signi ican (p>.05).
Di e en supe sc ip s (a, b, and c) indica e signi ican di e ences be ween
imes o display (p<.05).
Di e en supe sc ip s (x, y, and z) indica e signi ican di e ences be ween
muscles (p<.05).
hab ¼ an1b
a

180
p;C
ab ¼ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
a
ðÞ
2þb
ðÞ
2
q
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 1289
The esul s o su ey RS þTD showed a clea p e e -
ence o consume s o MR mea , demons a ing ha
he kid mea wi h g ea e Land h
ab
and low C
ab is
p e e ed. Howe e , su ey RS was no so clea
because he di e ence in colou (D
ab) be ween he
ea ing sys ems was conside ably highe o su ey
RS þTD (D
ab¼4.0) han ha o su ey RS (D
ab¼2.4).
This la e colou di e ence is close o he concep o
he ‘jus no iceable di e ence’be ween wo s imuli
epo ed by some au ho s (S okes e al. 1992; ISO
2004). Howe e , de ining a isually de ec able h esh-
old is di icul because i depends la gely on whe e
he wo compa ed colou s a e loca ed in he colou
space (Lee 2005). Ab il e al. (2001) epo ed ha D
ab
o bee >0.9 we e isually de ec ible. Howe e , heo -
e ically, when D
ab is below 2.2, he s imuli a e no dis-
c iminable di e en om each o he (S okes e al.
1992). O he au ho s epo ed ha D
ab below 1 is
impe cep ible and di e ences be ween 1 and 4 may
o may no be pe cep ible (Ebne 2007). Also is
impo an he physical and empo al dis ance be ween
he s imuli (Wyszecki and S iles 1982). In ac , Babike
e al. (1990) epo ed ha goa and lamb mea wi h
D
ab¼1.97 was no de ec ed by consume s when no
a e showed oge he . Ca asco e al. (2009) epo ed
ha ained e alua o s we e no able o di e en ia e
a colou s wi h D
ab¼5.2 because colou s imuli we e
no e alua ed nex o each o he . In addi ion, he ea -
ing sys ems compa ed on su ey RS had alues o L
abo e 40.77, which has been epo ed as he i s
h eshold o assess suckling kid mea (Ripoll e al.
2018a). The e o e, acco ding o hese la e au ho s,
bo h ea ing sys ems would achie e simila is-
ual app aisal.
Die s ongly a ec s he mea colou o p e umi-
nan s, such as suckling lambs and kids (Joy e al.
2012; Ozcan e al. 2014). Mea ligh ness is in luenced
by pH and p o ein s uc u es (MacDougall 1982) mo e
han die (Rene e 1982). Hence, some au ho s
epo ed ha milk eplace s do no a ec he Lo
esh kid mea , independen o he measu ed muscle
(Ba~
n
on e al. 2006; Zu i a-He e a e al. 2013; De Palo
e al. 2015). Howe e , in ag eemen wi h Ripoll e al.
(2018a), ozen/ hawed mea could show a di e en
beha iou due o he dena u alisa ion o sa coplasmic
p o eins. In ag eemen wi h ou esul s, De Palo e al.
(2015) ound ha he mea o kids ed wi h na u al
milk had lowe band h
ab
han ha o hose ed wi h
milk eplace s. Addi ionally, he au ho s also did no
ind di e ences in C
ab:Compa ed wi h he use o na -
u al goa milk, he use o milk eplace s a ec s he
colou o he semimemb anosus muscle by dec easing
b(Zu i a-He e a e al. 2013). Howe e , he compos-
i ion o goa milk is dependen on he eeding/man-
agemen sys em o he goa s (Raynal-Lju o ac e al.
2008), and his in luences he colou o mea , espe-
cially a. Some au ho s explained ha he mea om
kids ea ed wi h na u al milk has lowe aand g ea e
h
ab
because na u al goa milk o is poo in Fe (Sa~
nudo
e al. 2012). Howe e , a highe le el o Fe was ound
in he kids ed wi h milk eplace (Wi ek 2002). In
con as wi h he Fe insu iciency, Ba~
n
on e al. (2006)
and A g€
uello e al. (2005) epo ed ha he mea om
kids ea ed wi h MR had g ea e h
ab
and he same L
as hose ea ed wi h NM, bu he esul s disag ee con-
ce ning C
ab:Zu i a-He e a e al. (2013) epo ed he
same L,a
, and bin bo h ea ing sys ems.
To ou cu en knowledge, he e a e no s udies in
he li e a u e examining he isual app aisal o pu -
chase in en ions o kid mea h ough imes o display.
Howe e , some au ho s ha e epo ed ha consume s
signi ican ly ejec he mea o ligh (Panea e al. 2005;
Joy e al. 2012) o hea y lambs a e 5 days (Kennedy
e al. 2004). Mea discolou a ion is impo an because
discolou ed mea canno be easily sold (Liu e al.
1995). Mea discolou a ion is p oduced du ing s o age
as deoxymyoglobin is con e ed o me myoglobin. A
s onge ela ionship be ween isual assessmen and
h
ab
,C
ab and he a o b a io has been epo ed,
a he han wi h he s andalone ich oma ic coo di-
na es (Lee e al. 2005; Mo issey e al. 2008; Ripoll
e al. 2012). The e o e, inc eases in h
ab
and dec eases
in C
ab ha e been used as indica o s o ed mea dis-
colou a ion (MacDougall 1982; Albe 
ıe al. 2005; Lee
e al. 2005; Ripoll e al. 2011,2012; De Palo e al.
2015; Holman e al. 2017). The b owning o bee has
been ela ed o he dec ease o ch oma (Rene e and
Mazuel 1985). This inding is in ag eemen wi h he
esul s o ou s udy, as he discolou a ion o he kid
mea and he ejec ion om consume s we e ela ed
o a dec ease o C
ab a he han h
ab
due o he pale-
ness o his ype o mea . Howe e , Ozcan e al. (2014)
s udied he mea colou o Gokceada suckling kids
and concluded ha while aand bseemed o no
change om 1 o 5 days, Ldec eased sligh ly.
Mo ales-De la Nuez e al. (2011) did no epo
changes in Land ao he mea om Majo e a kids
s o ed o 7 days; howe e , band hab inc eased
while C
ab dec eased. The changes in h
ab
and C
ab
obse ed wi h s o age ime can be a esul o myoglo-
bin oxida ion o me myoglobin and he loss o hem-
inic pigmen s due o he eeze/ haw p ocess.
1290 G. RIPOLL ET AL.
Conclusions
The jus no iceable di e ence in he consume colou
de ec ion was simila when he consume assessed
pic u es o mea ins ead o ac ual mea samples.
Consequen ly, web-based su eys p o ided simila
in o ma ion compa ed wi h su eys using ac ual p od-
uc ins ead o pic u es. Mea colou appea s as a
ecu ing cue o assess consume p e e ence, and his
cue is used consis en ly ac oss he sociodemog aphic
cha ac e is ics o he consume . Howe e , a mino i y
o consume s choose o he kinds o mea because
hey use o he cues, such as a colou and chop
shape/size.
In gene al, consume s p e e ed he mea o ligh
suckling kids ea ed on milk eplace s because his
mea has an inc eased ligh ness, hue angle and low
ch oma. Howe e , when he mea o bo h ea ing sys-
ems has ligh ness le els abo e 40.77 and small di e -
ences in colou , he consume p e e ence o a ea ing
sys em is dependen on he b eed. Finally, he ela-
ionship be ween ins umen al colou o mea and
consume isual app aisal emains unclea , especially
in suckling ligh goa kids because he li e a u e
ocussed on his opic is sca ce.
Disclosu e s a emen
The au ho s decla e ha hey ha e no con lic o in e es .
Funding
This s udy was suppo ed by he Depa men o Science and
Technology, Minis y o Science and Technology (RTA2012-
0023-C03). B. Panea, M. J. Alcalde, and G. Ripoll a e membe s
o he MARCAME ne wo k, unded by CYTED ( e . 116RT0503).
ORCID
Guille mo Ripoll h p://o cid.o g/0000-0001-8042-8688
Ma 
ıa J. Alcalde h p://o cid.o g/0000-0003-1944-4499
Bego~
na Panea h p://o cid.o g/0000-0002-0572-9509
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