CHANGES IN ANIMAL PRODUCT COMPOSITION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ANIMAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Canadian meat products have changed in composition over the past 15 yr, the main emphasis being an increase in the lean meat content in beef and swine carcasses. Total lean output from beef carcasses (adjusted to the same number of carcasses) is estimated to have changed from 344.7 to 369.3 kt in the period 1973–1983, an increase of 7%. This change in lean output can be attributed to both the increased weight (5%) and decreased fat content (2%) of carcasses. A similar analysis for swine carcasses showed that total lean output increased from 342.8 to 383.5 kt (1967–1981), an increase of 11.9%. Both increased carcass weight (9.6%) and reduced carcass fat content (2.3%) contributed to this change in meat output. Poultry carcass weight evaluated at a constant slaughter age has more than doubled from 1958 to 1978, but average fat content has increased from 12.4% to 18.4%. These changes in red meat composition have not only provided the consumer with a leaner product, but have also lowered the cost of production through savings in feed otherwise used to produce waste fat. The composition of both beef and pork cooked retail cuts was found to be overestimated in current nutritional tables, which have in the past contributed to the perception that red meat contains high quantities of fat. Several beef and pork cuts trimmed of visible fat were found to have similar lipid contents to those of chicken and fish. There is likely to be continued emphasis on the production of leaner carcasses in the next decade. This approach will improve the efficiency of animal production systems, but may at some point have an undesirable effect on meat quality. A priority for meat research will be to develop processing systems which will maintain and improve the consumer acceptability of extremely lean meat. Key words: Beef, pork, poultry, composition