Beef consumption data

Most of the changes in the amounts of zinc contributed by meat can be related to the use of beef which accounts for the largest single contribution of zinc in the American diet. Before 1953, consumption of beef was less than that of pork. However, beef provided about twice as much zinc as pork because it is higher in zinc concentration. Since the mid-1960 s, beef has contributed three and sometimes four times as much zinc as does pork. This change has been due to Increased beef consumption which began in the mid-1950 s and peaked at 94 lb per capita in 1976. Between 1976 and 1980, beef consumption decreased 19 percent while pork consumption increased 27 percent. However, 1981 data may indicate another reverse in consumption trends. Pork contributed 1.0 mg of zinc per capita per day or 8 percent of the zinc in the food supply in 1981 while beef contributed 3.0 mg per capita per day or 24 percent of the total zinc. 

Fact or Myth Meat causes bowel cancer— This question has been prompted by the following reports (1) that the age-adjusted incidence of colon cancer has been found to increase with the per capita consumption of meat in countries (2) that, in a study done in Hawaii, the incidence of colon cancer in persons of Japanese ancestry was found to be greater among those who ate Western-style meals, especially those who ate beef and (3) that an examination of (a) international food consumption patterns, and (b) food consumption survey data from the United States showed that a higher incidence of colon cancer occurred in areas with greater beef consumption. 

The US-EPA Exposure Factors Handbook (US-EPA 1997), first published in 1989, provides a summary of the available data on consumption of drinking water consumption of fmits, vegetables, beef, dairy products, and fish soil ingestion inhalation rates skin surface area soil adherence lifetime activity patterns body weight consumer product use and the reference residence (data that are available on residence characteristics that affect exposure in an indoor environment). 

Three of the 17 flavouring agents (Nos 1758, 1759 and 1764) in this group have been reported to occur naturally in coffee, black tea, barley, chicken, turkey, guinea hen, beef, mushrooms, trassi, American cranberry and sweet corn (Nijssen et al., 2006). No quantitative data on the natural levels in food were available, and therefore consumption ratios (the ratios of their consumption from natural food sources to their use as flavouring agents) were not calculated. 

Data on the production of oilseeds and other crops are summarized in Table 14.0. The world production of vegetable fats has multiplied since the time before the Second World War (Table 14.1). There has been a significant rise in production since 1964 of soybean, palm and sunflower oils, as well as rapeseed oil. Soybean oil, butter and edible beef fat and lard are most commonly produced in FR Germany (Table 14.1). The per capita consumption of plant oils in Germany has increased in the past years (Table 14.2). 

There is no doubt that CLA has great potential for inclusion in functional foods indeed, in 1999 the American Dietetic Association declared beef itself to be a functional food due to its CLA content. A recent estimate of the market potential worldwide suggested that it could be worth between US 300 million and US 2000 million per year. In animals, the beneficial effects are significant, both for food production and animal health, and should lead to animal products containing lower levels of fat for human consumption. However, the increased consumption of CLA by humans in a functional food is still some way off. There is a requirement for consistent and accurate analytical data to substantiate claims of effects in humans, and the individual effects of different isomers still have to be elucidated. Until all of these can be substantiated fully. 

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