Acceptance of the meat of wild ungulates among the hungarian consumers

Abstract

The culture of game meat cooking in the Hungarian cuisine has very old tradition. In the recent survey we focused on the following species: red deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), mouflon (Ovis musimon) wild boar (Sus scrofa). Our aim was to map the consumers’ requests, the demand as well as the main objectives on the domestic market. The results represent a descriptive picture on the acceptance, rejection, attitudes and preferences concerning the given meat types. Data were collected (n=500) by on-line and paper based questionnaire as well, and were processed by PASW Statistics 18 software. Most of the asked consumers ate already game meat occasionally (all those who have hunter in the family eat at least in every month and more species). Differences were found between the answers of the asked sample population living in urban and in the rural areas. About 90% of the consumers considered game meat as healthy and almost organic food. Those people who have a negative attitude to game meat are vegetarian or refuse consumption due to fear from zoonotic diseases or emotional reasons. The availability of game meats is better year by year, but the answerers judged the fresh and pre-cooled meat more favourable, than the deep frozen ones, and buy the game meat more frequent from hunters, than from supermarkets. By the opinion of the answerers the game meats are expensive meats (compared to the meats of domestic animals). Deer meats were preferred by the value of delight, and the wild boar meat was preferred by the price.