Future of the Butcher

Summary

Background
Accurate nutrition compositional data representative of meat available for purchase in key markets is essential for developing effective nutrition marketing communications, demonstrating compliance with food regulations and informing policy-makers of the role of Australian beef and lamb in a healthy, balanced diet.
Purpose and description
To develop credible protocols for collecting, analysing and describing beef and lamb nutrient composition data in partnership with FSANZ and National Measurement Institute (NMI) to improve its accuracy where MLA supplies information regarding the supply chain and relevant product information; FSANZ provides expertise on study design; and NMI on analytical methods consistent with standards.  
Objective
To identify changes in the nutrient composition of Australian beef and lamb over the last 20 years.To develop a protocol for collecting and analysing beef mince which captures the variability of products available for purchase in the retail supply.To develop a protocol for analysing vitamin D levels in meat and determining the impact of different production systems in relation to exposure to sunlight.
OutcomesCitations:Williams P, Droulez V. Australian red meat consumption – implications of changes over 20 years on nutrient composition 2010; 62(3):87-94.Seehttp://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1462&context=hbspapersFayet-Moore F, Cunningham J, Stobaus T and Droulez V. Fat Content and Composition in Retail Samples of Australian Beef Mince. Nutrients 2014, 6(6), 2217-2228; doi:10.3390/nu6062217. Seehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24922174Liu, J,  Greenfield, H,  Fraser, DR.  An exploratory study of the content of vitamin D compounds in selected samples of Australian eggs  NUTRITION & DIETETICS, MAR  2014  71;1 46-50. Seehttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1747-0080.12056/abstractLiu J, Greenfield, H, Strobel, N, Fraser, DR. Influence of latitude on the concentration of vitamin D in Australian red meat. Journal Food Chemistry, 2013; 140(3):432-435. Seehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23601387
       2.  Up-to-date nutrient composition data for Australian beef, lamb and goat meats adopted by FSANZ in their NUTTAB and AUSNUT databases. Seehttp://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/nutrientables/nuttab/Pages/default.aspx​