Degree of fattening
Calculations needed to adjust the figures
In selecting the correct meat figures for a given species, e.g., beef, pork, mutton, to correspond with the kind used in a particular country, the first step is to determine whether most of the meat used is of medium fatness or is fatter or leaner than the medium level given in the tables. It might be estimated, for example, that domestic beef is medium fat, similar to Item 174, and that some other stage of fatness, e.g.. Item 172 or Item 176, applies to the quantities exported or imported. If detailed statistics are available, it may be possible to calculate approximately how much of the total beef in a given year belongs to each of the categories corresponding to Items 172, 174, etc., and from this to derive a weighted average which is applicable to the total beef in the available supply.
The figures for live weight and carcass weight, shown in Tables 1 and 2, under "Notes," are intended as average weights of animals such as those commonly produced in some parts of Western Europe and in North America. Where the prevailing breeds of domestic animals are distinctly larger or smaller in body size, these weights may be of little help as criteria of the stage of fattening. However, relative size can be some indication of fatness wherever the usual weights associated with medium-fat animals within the particular area are known.
As an illustration, the live weights of medium-fat pork might be 85 kilograms instead of 100 kilograms as in Item 189. If, in a particular year, the live weights at slaughter in this area averaged 95 kilograms there would be an indication that the untrimmed carcasses contained more fat than usual, probably more than the amount given in Item 189. Since this increased weight, 10 kilograms, corresponds to about 12 percent above that of medium-fat pork, it might be concluded that the pork was roughly halfway between Items 189 and 191 in composition, and that an average of the two would be applicable.
The figures given in these tables for carcasses do not apply directly to trimmed meat, except for partial trimming, such as kidney fat in the case of beef and veal. Separate calculations need to be made to establish the figures which apply to the trimmed meat. To do this, it is essential to know the percentage of fat which has been removed. This percentage is calculated from the total carcass weight and the amount of fat removed, figures for which are developed in estimating the meat, fat, and offal production for the. food balance sheets (see FAO Handbook for the Preparation of Food Balance Sheets, Washington, D. C, April 1949, page 22 of the English edition).
From the food composition figures for untrimmed meat, the figures for trimmed meat can be derived by simply making allowance for the calories and nutrients removed in the trimming. This type of calculation is illustrated below.
1. Pork
The percentage of visible fat removed as lard or other fat trimmings is, say, 10 percent. The type of carcass is such that the most appropriate figures to be used for the untrimmed pork are, for example, those given for Item 189 in the tables. The most appropriate figures to be used for the fat removed are those in Item 285. The figures to be applied to the trimmed pork are derived as follows:
|
|
Calories |
Protein |
Fat |
||
|
(No. Per 100 gm.) |
Grams |
||||
|
Item 189 |
100 gm. |
untrimmed meat |
376 |
9.8 |
37 |
|
less 10% of Item 285 |
10 gm. |
visible fat |
81.6 |
0.3 |
8.9 |
|
gives |
90 gm. |
trimmed meat |
294.4 |
9.5 |
28.1 |
|
OR for |
100 gm. |
trimmed meat |
327.0 |
10.6 |
31.0 |
These figures (327 calories per 100 gm., 10.6 percent protein, and 31 percent fat) are thus the ones to be used for calculating the number of calories and the grams of protein and fat which are yielded by the trimmed pork.
2. Mutton (As for Pork above)
3. Beef
These tables give figures which apply directly to trimmed meat when only kidney fat has been removed. The kidney fat is a lower percentage of the total carcass weight in thin animals than it is in medium and fat animals. Where the percentage of fat removed, as calculated, is more than the percentages indicated in footnote 6 on beef in Table I, separate calculations must be made to derive the figures which are applied to the trimmed meat. For example, if the type of carcass is such that the most appropriate figure for the untrimmed meat is Item 174 in the tables, and the percentage of fat removed is greater than 2.5 percent, the figures appearing as Item 175 in the tables are not appropriate, and separate calculations must be made as follows:
|
|
Calories |
Protein |
Fat |
||
|
(No. per 100 gm.) |
Grams |
||||
|
Item 74 |
100 gm. |
untrimmed meat |
225 |
14.7 |
18 |
|
less 4% of Item 286. |
4 gm. |
visible fat or tallow. |
33.9 |
0.08 |
3.72 |
|
gives |
96 gm. |
trimmed meat |
191.1 |
14.62 |
14.28 |
|
OR for |
100 gm. |
trimmed meat |
199 |
15.2 |
15 |
4. Veal (As for Beef above.)
Note: The percentage of fat that has been removed gives some indication of which are the most appropriate figures for the total (untrimmed) carcass, e.g., if the amount of tallow removed is 8 percent of the total beef carcass weight it is most unlikely that Item 172 is appropriate, as this would leave the trimmed beef with only 4 percent fat (see below).
|
|
Calories |
Protein |
Fat |
||
|
(No. per 100 gm.) |
Gram |
||||
|
Item 172 |
100 gm. |
untrimmed meat |
164 |
15.2 |
11 |
|
less 8% of Item 286 |
8 gm. |
visible fat or tallow. |
67.8 |
0.16 |
7.44 |
|
gives |
92 gm. |
trimmed meat |
96.2 |
15.04 |
3.56 |
|
OR for |
100 gm. |
trimmed meat |
105 |
16.3 |
4 |
When such apparent improbabilities are met, the inference is that the untrimmed carcasses were fatter than was indicated in Item 172.
