Ground Beef Is A Nutritious Choice
“When it comes to nutrition, the expression ‘you get what you pay for’ just doesn’t apply,” says Pat Scarlett, Nutrition Manager with the Beef Information Centre. “Ground beef is value priced, particularly in today’s market, but it has all the same nutrients as the more expensive beef cuts.”
According to nutrient data, when 100 grams of regular ground beef, is cooked and drained, it contains 13 essential nutrients and only 13 grams of fat. “Regular ground beef may contain up to 30% fat when raw, but much of this fat is lost during cooking,” explains Scarlett. “Cooking reduces the amount of fat on average, by about one-half, since fat drips out when barbecuing or broiling and can be drained off after pan-frying.”
So, from a nutritional point of view, how does regular ground beef stack up against lean or extra lean? According to Scarlett, in the past decade, Canadians have made a dramatic shift to lower fat ground beef choices. Over 70% of ground beef sold at retail stores is either lean or extra lean.
“This trend indicates that consumers are taking action to reduce fat in their diet,” says Scarlett. “However, properly drained and rinsed, regular ground beef continues to be an economical source of high quality protein and other important nutrients such as iron, zinc and B vitamins. In fact, by simply rinsing the fat off after cooking, you can further reduce the fat in regular ground beef to under 10 grams per serving, making it similar to lean ground beef.”
Scarlett suggests that consumers choose regular ground beef for recipes such as spaghetti sauce where the ground beef can be cooked, drained and rinsed before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
Federal government regulations require that ground beef be labeled as "regular", "medium", "lean" or "extra lean". These terms relate to the maximum fat content allowed by law in raw ground beef. However, recent studies of samples purchased from grocery stores across Canada show that all types of ground beef have considerably less fat than the maximum allowed.
“We have been conducting nutrient analysis on ground beef in preparation for mandatory nutrition labelling, and are noticing that ground beef of all types is much leaner than previously thought,” states Scarlett.
Nutrition information about ground beef, including a sample of the Nutrition Facts label, along with information on how to buy, store and cook with ground beef is available in a new consumer booklet “Ground Beef: Canada’s Favourite Meat”.
“The booklet title is appropriate. Ground beef truly is Canada’s favourite meat,” says Scarlett. “And it’s no wonder. From humble fare to haute cuisine, ground beef is a powerhouse of taste and nutrition, at affordable prices.”
