Comparison of Fat Content and Fatty Acid Composition in Different Parts of Korean Beef and Pork

In this study, the fat contents and fatty acid compositions of Korean beef (tenderloin, loin, strip loin, chuck roll, foreshank, top blade, top round, brisket point, center of heel, and ribs) and pork (tenderloin, loin, shoulder loin, foreshank, jowls, ham, eye of round, belly, skirt meat, and ribs) parts were investigated. The fat contents of Korean beef ranged from 5.25% (top round) to 35.94% (brisket point). The major fatty acids were palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), and oleic acid (C18:1, n-9); especially, oleic acid was the most abundant. Loin had similar fat content as ribs, but there were some differences in fatty acid composition. Linolenic acid (C18:3, n-3) and linoleic acid (C18:2, n-6) were the most abundant fatty acids in strip loin and ribs (38.63 mg/100 g and 564.71 mg/100 g, respectively). Arachidonic acid (C20:4, n-6) was only found in strip loin, top blade, and ribs, and its amounts were in the following order: ribs (2.50 mg/100 g) greater than strip loin (1.33 mg/100 g) greater than top blade (1.19 mg/100 g). Total trans-fatty acid (TFA) content of top round was the lowest among all parts, and the ratio of unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) was the highest in foreshank. The fat contents of pork ranged from 4.16% (tenderloin) to 18.47% (belly), but there was no significant difference in fat content between tenderloin, loin, foreshank, ham, and eye of round. The major fatty acids were palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid, and their amounts were in the following order: oleic greater than palmitic greater than linoleic greater than stearic acid. Docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6, n-3) was only detected in belly, and the TFA content of belly was the highest. The ratio of UFA was highest in ham. These findings will be useful in the development of standardization data on fatty acid composition in different parts of Korean beef and pork.