Latest Fact Sheet

Season 2, Ep 5 - Beef

Last year, New Zealand ate around 120,000 tonnes of beef.

Beef is a great source of zinc which is important for our immune system function and wound healing. 150g of beef offers around % of a man’s RDI and % of a woman’s.

Beef is also an excellent source of iron. There are two types of iron – non-haem is found in plants whereas meat contains both heam and non-haem iron. Haem iron is much more easily absorbed than non-haem iron. Meat also has a special property that improves our absorption of non-haem iron too, so eating beef

On average, women in New Zealand are only consuming 51% of their RDI of iron. Our toddlers are also not consuming enough. 150g of beef will provide a 19-50 year old woman with a third of her iron RDI while 100g will provide toddlers with almost half of their RDI.

One of the few things that has more iron than beef is beef offal! Beef kidneys have more than two times as much iron as steak!

Beef contains 2-9% fat - around half this is saturated. To minimise saturated fat intake from beef, trim the visible fat and look out for cuts that have the Quality Mark or Heart Foundation Tick – these cuts have less than 5mm visible fat and less than 4% saturated fat.

The World Cancer Research Fund found an association between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer. However, ensuring you consume no more than 500g of cooked red meat per week removes the risk.

When red meat is cooked at high temperatures, carcinogenic chemicals may be produced. However, marinating meat before cooking it and cooking at lower temperatures decreases the amounts of these chemicals. Fruit and vegetables can also help prevent the carcinogenic chemicals from become active. In New Zealand, antibiotics are not routinely used on beef cattle. Growth hormones are used on 1.4% of animals. Meat that displays the Quality Mark or that has been produced organically will not have had growth hormones used on it.

DDT is a pesticide used in the 1950s and 60s that still shows up in our foods. Its concentration is highest in meat and dairy products but you would need to eat double your own bodyweight in meat to exceed the safe daily intake.