CHICKEN IS STILL THE LOW-FAT CHAMP, PORK STUDY CONFIRMS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent study of the fat content of pork and chicken cuts confirms that skinless chicken breast -- the most popular chicken product -- is lower in fat than any of the pork cuts studied. Skinless chicken breast had only 2.1 grams of fat per 100 grams of product, while the leanest pork cut was tenderloin at 2.9 grams of fat per 100 grams of product. The study, "A Nationwide Audit of the Composition of Pork and Chicken Cuts at Retail," was conducted in 1996 and the results published in the September issue of the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Results of the study
of eight pork cuts and four chicken cuts were compared to data previously published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While the study compared pork data to the USDA's 1989 release, the chicken results were compared to USDA's data from 1979. To further compound the confusion, the data reported in the article for both pork and chicken are significantly different from the data currently reported by USDA's Food and Nutrition Information Center, which is regarded as an impartial source.
The pork-and-chicken study shows that external fat on pork cuts has been reduced since the 1989 USDA release. External fat can be trimmed by the butcher. The fat content of the meat itself, however, remained the same: "Mean (average) fat and cholesterol contents of lean from 1996 pork cuts were unchanged from 1989 levels," the authors wrote.
The National Pork Producers Council is touting the study, and makes an
apples-and-oranges comparison of the leanest pork cuts to the higher-fat chicken cuts, such as thighs. The term "skinless chicken" in the NPPC news release includes chicken thigh meat and compares it to "lean pork." The chicken industry has never maintained that thighs are low in fat -- only that they taste great and are still popular despite the burgeoning popularity of skinless, boneless breast.
"The fact remains -- skinless chicken breast is the queen of low-fat foods at the center of the plate," said Stephen Pretanik, director of science and technology for the National Broiler Council. "Any fair comparison -- comparable cut to comparable cut -- shows that skinless chicken breast is lower in fat than any of its competitors."
SOURCE National Broiler Council |
