Recommended amounts

• Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends 455g of cooked, lean red meat each week to meet requirements for key nutrients in the Australian diet, including iron, zinc, omega-3, protein and vitamin B12[1].

• The equivalent weekly amount of 455g of lean, cooked meat per week is 650g raw weight based on moisture loss of 30%[2].

• Providing guidance on portion sizes for a variety of popular meals, three to four times a week, is a practical way to explain recommended amounts [3,4,5].

References

1. National Health and Medical Research Council (2013). Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra (ACT): NHMRC.
2.National Health and Medical Research Council (2013) Educator Guide. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council. Recommends a flexible approach, for example having 130g of lean, cooked red meat every second day, equivalent to frequency of three to four times a week over a fortnight.
3. Sui Z, Raubenheimer D, Rangan A (2017). Consumption patterns of meat, poultry, and fish after disaggregation of mixed dishes: secondary analysis of the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011–12. BMC Nutr. 3:52. doi:10.1186/s40795-017-0171-1. Average per capita consumption in Australia is 57g of cooked meat per day and the frequency 3- 4 times per week was calculated from per consumer intake.
4. Sui Z, Raubenheimer D, Rangan A (2017). Exploratory analysis of meal composition in Australia: Meat and accompanying foods. Public Health Nutr.20(12):2157-2165. doi:10.1017/S1368980017000982. This analysis indicates the portion size of red meat varies by type of meal.
5. Droulez V and Cunningham J (2022). Review of the nutrient composition of Australian red meat. Sydney (NSW): MLA. A study of typical portion sizes in popular meals confirmed portion sizes varies by type of meal and ranges from 100 to 250g raw weight

Portion size

Recommended amounts

References