Panel Urges New Emphasis On
WASHINGTON, D.C. The. grading, labeling, and product
federal government should revise standards to provide a greater
current regulations that govern incentive for production and mark-
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Development Of Leaner Meat And Dairy Products
eting of leaner meat and dairy pro
ducts, a National Research Coun
cil committee said last week.
Following the two-and-one
half-year review of national food
supply statistics and dietary survey
data, the committee concluded that
recent trends show a move towards
healthier dietary habits and a
“remarkably responsive” record
for industry in developing a new
products to meet the demands of
these more nutritionally aware
consumers. Nevertheless, the com
mittee said that most Americans
consume more fat, cholesterol, and
saturated fatty acids than recom
mended by national health organi
zations. Excessive levels of these
nutrients in the diet have been
linked to heart disease, stroke, and
certain forms of cancer.
Current meat grading policies
“encourage overfattening of beef
and lamb,” the committee found,
while available labeling and nutri
tion information falls to inform
consumers adequately about
lower-fat animal products already
Pigweed
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available in the marketplace.
The “real solution” to excessive
dietary fat, saturated fatty acids,
and cholesterol “lies in the produc
tion of leaner animals,” it said.
This could be accomplished by
applying currently available tech
nologies for the breeding, feeding,
and management of farm animals,
it added. Research in the use of
growth hormones that promote
production of muscle instead of fat
tissue would also be useful, the
committee concluded. In the
meantime, fat should be removed
from animal products “at the ear
liest stage in processing,” the com
mittee urged.
The 16-member committee
recommended that additional
information be provided to con
sumers at the point of sale and
through improved labeling to help
them identify cholesterol content
and the sources and types of fat and
fatty acids in the diet. In particular,
it said, consumers need to know
that some vegetable sources of fat
and oil such as coconut, palm.
Lambsqmrters
Lancaster Farming Saturday, April 23, 1988-01
and palm kernel oils are also,
important sources of saturated fat
ty acids in the diet
Many reduced-fat and -choles
terol products already exist in the
marketplace and may help con
sumers reach targeted levels for
these components in their diets, the
committee observed. Using
sample diets, it illustrated how
low-fat milk, yogurt, or ice milk
might be substituted for whole
milk products, or how leaner cuts
of meat or a change in cooking
method from frying to broiling or
roating could reduce the fat con
tent of beef, pork, or chicken.
Changes in the current system
for grading beef would provide an
important method for encouraging
the marketing of leaner products, it
said. Currendy, beef must be
simultaneously graded for “yield”
(the number of trimmed cuts per
carcass) and “quality” (the relative
flavor, juiciness, and tenderness).
These evaluations can only be per
formed under current USDA reg
ulations prior to removal of the
outer layer of fat from a carcass.
By uncoupling the yield- and
quality-grading processes and by
allowing producers to remove this
outer layer of fat immediately after
slaughter (a technique called “hot
fat trimming”), the committee
maintained that USDA would
encourage the food industry to pro
duce leaner cattle. The yield for a
trimmed carcass would be higher
than for the same size carcass that
had not been trimmed, “in effect
penalizing the producer for addi
tional fat.”
Another committee recommen
dation, renaiming of the leanest
retail USDA beef grade from
“Good” to “Select,” has already
been implemented by USDA.
Some consumers had misinter
preted teh “Good” grade as an
inferior product, the committee
explained; consequently, produc
ers preferred to market it
ungraded. Much of this leaner
meat is now being marketed under
supermarket brand names. The
new “Select” designation estab
lished by USDA in November
1987 will allow consumers a grea
ter range of low-fat beef options
under a more appealing name, said
the committee, while allowing
producers to market lean beef
more aggressively.
In support of efforts to improve
acceptance of lean cuts of beef and
other meat products, the commit
tee advised that the maximum
amount of truthful nutritional
information be available to con
sumers at the point of sale. At the
same time, however, it urged that
use of labels such as “lite,” “lean,”
“light,” and “natural,” be standar
dized to avoid misleading claims.
Lowering Fat and
Cholesterol Content