Abstract: Boar taint in individual animal bodies, preferably carcasses or parts thereof, is detected by preparing an extract of a meat and/or fat sample from the body or part thereof, reacting said extract with a color reagent, for which the color intensity developed at certain wavelengths exhibit a statistical relationship with boar taint, determining the transmittance or absorbance of the reacted extract at one or more such wavelengths, and inserting the recorded values in the said statistical relationship. A high correlation has been found to exist between color reaction and boar taint evaluation so that the transmittance or absorbance at wave lengths characteristic of the color reaction gives a quantitative measure of boar taint intensity. This has made it possible to determine threshold values which objectively define organoleptic inacceptable taint levels.