School Lunch Success in My Own Backyard!

ground beef (4.00 / 3)

Jill, might you use this entree with Petill to find out what are the composition standads for ground beef supplied through USDA? Is it 30% fat? 25% fat? 20% fat? Can it be extended with Textured Vegetable Protein?

If a difference exists between what San Diego uses and what is USDA-legal, I'm mostly interested in what is legal.

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by: count @ Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 17:01:43 PM UTC

I'm curious to know if USDA has different standards for ground beef in the school lunch program (4.00 / 4)

As far as what's legal over all, of course 30% fat is legal for ground beef, at least for regular retail sale.

One thing I've learned though, about beef:fat ratios is that the higher fat content is a false savings. While the higher fat content means that the per pound price will be lower, after cooking, you can really tell the difference.

You have to have a certain ammount of fat in a ground product, otherwise it'll come out like sawdust when you cook it. That's why pork fat is usually used when making things like ground venison, or even emu.

But what I've found when cooking ground beef patties and even bulk ground beef for making things like sauces, meat loaf, etc. is that after cooking, there's a lot more left with the leaner products than there is with the fattier products. Give me a 80/20 or even a 85/15 product over a 70/30 any day. With the fattier product you throw most of the savings away.

I wonder if USDA and/or the schools look at that aspect of things?

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 19:00:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

legal (4.00 / 3)

I could have and should have been clearer. Thanks for pointing this out.

The ground beef Standard of Identity includes 30% fat, which means ground beef can legally be sold to the public with 30% fat. That isn't what I meant by USDA-legal, hence the confusion. I mean, what is the USDA standard for what they buy for school nutrition programs. I wonder partly because the USDA has done terrible things in the name of saving a buck, and their computers automatically award contracts to lowest bidders. I suppose allowable fat would be specified in requests for bids or in other documents known to bidders, but I haven't been able to locate the information.

My thinking is, if allowable fat content different from 30% is not specified for school nutrition programs, I assume bidders would supply 30%.

This would be good information for parents and taxpayers to know, I think.

With regard to throwing away savings, I think you and I have already verified this by looking at McD data, which is based on 25% fat. Quarter-pounders from McD give less cooked product than quarter-pounders from chains that use 20% fat, but both chains advertise quarter-pounders. 30% would entail even more waste. Unless somehow the meat is prepared in a way that retains all the fat (shudder.)

Here's an idea - maybe USDA could request bids on the basis of price per pound of protein, specifying no TVP.

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by: count @ Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 21:44:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Now there's a thought (4.00 / 1)

Here's an idea - maybe USDA could request bids on the basis of price per pound of protein, specifying no TVP.

I'm being serious here, not sarcastic. If they did they'd probably save a lot of money. But that's one of the draw backs of the 'lowest bidder' criteria. Government contract bidding is a topic for a whole set of diaries of it's own....

Truely, when you buy ground beef patties, or advertise such in a hamburger, you're going on uncooked weight. So, a restaurant that uses a 70/30 mix and advertises a 1/4 lb burger is actually selling less beef (raw and cooked) than a restaurant that uses a 85/15 mix. When you cook it, most of the fat liquifies and runs off. That's why when I was buying preformed ground beef patties, I quit buying 70/30, there was just too much shrinkage when I cooked them. Plus the reservoir for fat (I used a George Foreman Grill) would fill up with one patty vs 2-3 of the lower fat content patties. Given this, I have to wonder if the TVP wouldn't be a better extender than fat. I think that TVP at least wouldn't disapear/run off when cooked? I mean, if you're going to extend the beef with something, maybe that would be better?

When you look at it that way, you can't help but ask the question - "I paid how much for that crap that's going in the garbage?". I mean, even 'cheap' beef costs a lot of money. I ain't into paying for fat that I'm going to throw away anyway just to 'save' some money, especially when it turns out not to be a savings anyway.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Thu Jan 14, 2010 at 00:24:24 AM UTC

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Cooper (4.00 / 3)

What you have printed already looks much better than what I have read in documents from controlling agencies in various states, and in the most recent federal-level surveys/analyses.

Is Cooper's visit intended to have system-wide impact, help launch a pilot program in a few schools, provide a helpful informed outsider's perspective? Is your meeting with Petill in connection with Cooper's visit?

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by: count @ Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 17:16:55 PM UTC

Cooper's visit (4.00 / 3)

is for a pilot program at one school in particular and I assume if successful it will be expanded within the district over time. And yes, I spoke with Petill about Cooper's visit but also because of an effort we're doing locally to get all of the food-related organizations in communication with one another via a Google group and shared calendar.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 22:06:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]