Goat meat acceptance in Japan: Current situation and future prospects

Three surveys and a sensory evaluation of goat meat were conducted in Japan to examine the current needs and future possibilities of goat meat consumption. The experimental results of the present study lead us to conclude the following: (i) improving the smell of goat meat and combining the sale of goat meat with recipes may increase goat meat demand among housewives; (ii) it seems to be difficult to disseminate Okinawa goat cuisine to non‐Okinawa residents because of the typical odor of goat meat, which is unlikely to be preferred by the public; (iii) the “chewiness” of goat meat is rated highly by young participants according to a sensory evaluation, and loin meat is rated highly compared with hind leg meat; and (iv) there is a rapidly increasing interest and a tremendous purchasing drive towards goat meat among university students. However, these facts call for further investigation of the goat meat demand in Japan. The following three further experiments are needed to solve this issue: (i) breeding to improve the taste of goat meat; (ii) expanding the marketing of goat meat combined with the invention of Japanese‐style goat recipes and tie‐in sales supermarkets; and (iii) implementing further sensory analyses to compare goat meat with other meat and carrying out market analysis in Japan.