Consumer attitudes and acceptability of catfish prepared in a low-fat manner

Consumption of farm-raised catfish in the United States has increased over the last few decades. However, consumers usually prefer it as a deep-fried product, especially in the southern United States. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the acceptability of low-fat baked catfish using a Central Location Test. Subjects (n=137) tasted, compared, and evaluated samples of low-fat baked catfish and deep-fried catfish. Results indicated that the fried product was favored (p<0.05) over the baked product. The majority of subjects (93.4%) identified the baked product as the healthier choice. Most subjects (85.7%) indicated that catfish was an overall healthy food choice. Reasons for consuming catfish included taste (75.6%), convenience (15.1%), health reasons (7.6%), and cost (1.7%). The majority of subjects (63.8%) indicated that they normally consumed catfish as a deep-fried product, but 91.9% indicated that they would be willing to consume catfish prepared in a low-fat manner.