Assessment of the role of meat cut on the Fe, Zn, Cu, Ca and Mg content and their in vitro availability in homogenised weaning foods

The aim of the present study was to compare the Fe, Zn, Cu, Ca and Mg contents and their in vitro availability in three meat-based weaning foods as a function of the meat cuts used in their formulation. The three meat cuts were yearling cow flank (YCF), mature cow flank(MCF) and mature cow mixed (MCM) cuts. The highest level of Fe (1.14 ± 0.31 mg/100 g) was obtained in MCM weaning food, whereas the highest content of Zn (0.96 ± 0.05 mg/100 g) was detected in YCF weaning food, depending significantly on the meat cut used ( p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). Cu, Ca and Mg contents were similar in the three weaning foods analysed. Amounts of dialysed minerals were higher in flankbased weaning foods YCF and MCF, with the exception of Ca which was higher in MCM. In addition, it is important to emphasise the high percentage of available Fe observed in MCF weaning food (8.57%) compared with the other two, 6.37% for YCF and 4.90% for MCM.