A cut of imported New Zealand or American lamb may be cheaper in the grocery store, but Canadian lamb is healthier, a nutritional study suggests.
Jennifer Fleming of the Canadian Sheep Federation said a comprehensive analysis shows Canadian lamb is higher in protein and lower in fat and calories than lamb from New Zealand and the United States.
“We learned it’s a pretty good meat to eat,” said Fleming, who is executive director of the federation. “We were pleasantly surprised with the results.”
The comparison was a side benefit discovered while using data from Health Canada’s Nutrient Data File.
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Initially the federation wanted more detailed nutritional information about Canadian lamb to help provincial sheep marketing agencies promote it and to learn if the red meat qualified for any health check programs.
Once the nutritional analysis was complete, it was compared to the nutritional information on Health Canada’s file of lamb from New Zealand and the U.S.
The study, by Maxxam Analytics Inc., examined more than 250 samples of lamb from across the country and six cuts of meat: shoulder, rib, loin, leg, foreshank and ground meat.
The foreshank had the lowest fat levels at 2.69 grams per 100 grams compared to 3.29 grams in U.S. lamb and 3.28 grams in New Zealand product.
The rib had the highest amount of fat at seven grams per 100 grams compared to 9.23 grams (U.S.) and 6.06 grams (NZ).
All cuts, except for ground lamb, showed protein at 20 to 22 grams per 100 grams.
“Sometimes we’re told that there’s a public perception that lamb is fatty. It’s kind of nice to know it’s not as fatty as people think it is,” Fleming said.
The sheep federation has used the information to make nutritional labels for marketing agencies.
“However they chose to use it, go nuts.”
The only reaction they’ve had on the study is from a New Zealand company that wanted information on how the study was run.
Fleming said the federation hasn’t studied the information to see how lamb compares to other Canadian meat.
