Have Iceland Stoppedselling 5 Fat Frozen Minced Beef

The great 'lean' mince swindle: There's LESS fat in standard meat, says study

Not so lean: Amounts of fat can vary greatly from what it says on the pack

'Lean' or 'extra lean' minced beef may sound like a healthy option.

But shoppers who buy these products could be eating more fat than is found in standard mince.

For the fat content labels used on the meat can be hopelessly inaccurate, a study shows.

One pack of so-called lean mince contained 25.9 per cent fat, while another described as extra lean had 23.1 per cent fat.

The survey, conducted by councils, found conventional mince can be as little as 2 per cent fat, which would be a far healthier option.

Shoppers are charged far more for the supposedly healthy low fat versions to be used in pies, bolognese and burgers, yet many are getting a poorer quality option.

Lean mince can be 80 per cent more expensive at £7.18 a kilo versus £4 for the standard product.

Discount supermarkets are the biggest culprits for misleading shoppers, while small independent butchers generally offer lower fat products.

The worst quality mince was found in frozen packs, which was not only high in fat but more likely to contain ' connective material' – the gristle scraped from bones.

Researchers found that mince from Asda contained an average of 27 per cent more fat than claimed on the label.

The figure was an average of 23 per cent more for Aldi, 19 per cent higher at Netto, 18 per cent at Morrisons and 13 per cent at Lidl.

Tesco scored relatively well, with an average of just 2 per cent more fat than claimed.

And Sainsbury's had 4 per cent less fat than stated on the label.

Perhaps surprisingly, the average fat content found in ten samples of mince bought from budget store Iceland was 10 per cent less than stated.

The study analysed 513 samples - and found the overall fat content varied massively, from 1.8 per cent to 33.6 per cent.

There was significant variation within product categories.

While some packets of 'lean minced beef' contained just 2.5 per cent fat, others had ten times that amount.

Minced beef from supermarkets contained 67 per cent more fat than the equivalent from butchers' shops.

However, 29 per cent of minced beef samples from the butchers' had traces of other meat in them – mainly pork.

This is probably because more than one type of meat was put through the mincer.

Cheap frozen minced beef contained 41 per cent more fat and 24 per cent more connective tissue than fresh minced beef.

While buying is something of a lottery, the study found that minced steak generally had lower fat.

However, even some packs of lean or extra lean minced steak contained more fat than the standard product.

LG Regulation, which speaks for councils, is calling for consistency in the naming of beef products, as well as help and advice for shoppers to understand what they are buying.

The group's chairman, Paul Bettison, said: 'When it comes to labelling minced beef, confusion reigns supreme.

'For a consumer to try to purchase a product with a specific fat content, the chances of them getting what they want are a bit of a lottery.

Minced meat is one of the country's most popular food products.

Yet the millions of people who eat it every week would be shocked to learn that a packet of lean steak mince may contain more fat than steak mince.'

The British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, complained the study was misleading and that the councils were unfairly focussing on major stores.

Its food director, Andrew Opie, said: 'The fat content of mince varies depending on factors such as the cuts of meat used, the season and the animal's feed.

'The average fat figures the survey found for standard, lean and extra lean mince were all within industry guidelines and within the tolerances recommended by local council bodies.'

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Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1297262/The-great-lean-mince-swindle-Theres-LESS-fat-standard-meat-says-study.html

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