Farmscape for October 30, 2007  (Episode 2628)

The Canadian pork industry is circulating two new fact sheets which provide updated information on the nutrient content of pork.

"Pork a Healthy Choice" and "Pork a Lean Choice," developed by the dietitian at Ontario Pork, are being distributed to health professionals and health educators across Canada.

The documents provide nutrition information related to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation's Health Check program and Canada's Food Guide.

Manitoba Pork Council home economist Marlene McDonald notes pork has already been recognized as a lean meat and new nutrient analysis conducted in 2006 and included in the 2007 Canadian Nutrient File shows pork is now leaner than ever.

Clip-Marlene McDonald-Manitoba Pork Council 

The categories for meat are usually lean, extra lean and lean ground.

These are to conform with the Health Check that is on many meat packages.

This is a program of the Heart and Stroke Foundation in Canada.

Previously pork was a lean meat which meant that it had 10 percent fat or less.

This new data that we received last year after the analysis indicates that all trimmed fresh pork cuts excluding ribs are now extra lean which means that they have 7.5 percent fat or less so this is great new information.

In fact, if a composite is taken of these lean cuts, a 100 gram average serving of raw trimmed pork contains only 2.7 grams of fat.

Now that's a composite of several cuts so some will be a bit higher and some will be even lower than that but it's a very low benchmark so it really shows that pork is a very lean meat.

McDonald credits the further fat reductions to increased trimming and new feeding techniques where pork producers have responded to consumer demand for even leaner meat.

The fact sheets are available through direct mailing or through the pork industry web site, putporkonyourfork.com.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council