Estimation of real per capita consumption of meat in Italy

Food consumption refers to the amount of food available for human consumption. The knowledge of food consumption is crucial to set production and food supply policies, to compare eating habits with other countries, to assess the nutritional status of a population and to study the relationship between diet and health. In the last years all these aspects have taken an increasingly important interest because epidemiological studies have indicated a possible association between high consumption of meat and an risk of several forms of cancer as well as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately meat consumption is often estimated by methods that are inappropriate for this use because they do not represent the actual amount of meat consumed or, better, eaten by the consumers. The actual food consumption may be lower than the quantity shown as food availability depending on the magnitude of wastage and losses of food during the slaughtering, in the household, e.g. during storage, in preparation and cooking, as plate-waste or quantities fed to domestic animals and pets, thrown or given away The consumption estimated by FAO and by statistical offices of the various countries through the national food balance sheets does not indicate the amount of meat, ie the weight of the skeletalmuscles of animals with included or adherent tissues, but the amount of the weighted carcass at the slaughterhouse, including bones, tendons, connective tissues and fat. This paper discusses a method of estimating the real per capita consumption of meat in Italy with accuracy comparable to that of individual consumption, developed by the Study Commission of Animal Science and Production Association (ASPA). This action responds to the need of producing statistical indicator related to health food, as recommended by many international organizations (FAO, Eurostat).