The full report is available here.

The press release is available here.

The results show a decline in the average fat content of minced beef products over the past 20 years. It shows the constructive impact that consumer preferences can have when working in tandem with the actions of large supermarket chains. In consideration of the large amounts of minced beef consumed in this country, this reduction in fat content could have contributed directly towards the achieving healthier and more balanced diets for the UK population.

While the average fat content of minced beef has reduced, the range of the fat content that minced beef products can have is vast. The fat content of any one product, such as ‘minced beef’, ‘lean minced beef’ or ‘minced steak’, can vary to such extremities depending on where the product is bought that it is impossible for a consumer to understand what they are buying unless further labelling information is available.

Clearly more accessible information, for consumers, industry and enforcement bodies, would help to address this issue.

Unfortunately even where labelling is available for the consumer, this survey has highlighted that it can be inaccurate. Of particular concern is the trend that the survey suggests for fat content on labelling to be increasingly under estimated for products with lower fat, as this is where consumers will be paying increased attention to nutritional values and may be making choices based on the fat content of products.

The survey highlighted that minced beef purchased at supermarkets has a higher fat content then minced beef purchased from local butchers. Since the vast majority of minced beef consumed in this country is bought from supermarkets, this actually means that there is a real opportunity to work with supermarkets at a national and local level to reduce the fat content of their product specifications. If this could be achieved the benefits for public health would be shared by the majority of the population. West Yorkshire Trading Standards, as home authority for Morrison’s, has already had some success in this area.

Finally, the survey also highlighted potential issues with contamination of minced beef with other animal species in local butchers. Unfortunately the analysis techniques cannot determine whether this is due to cross contamination or adulteration, but it is likely that this situation arises from smaller scale production of minced beef products alongside other products.

Overall the survey has highlighted a positive overall trend for reduced fat content in minced beef. It has identified some concerning issues, but hopefully these can be seen as opportunities to continue reducing the average fat content of minced beef and ensure consumers can fully understand the product they are buying in future.