2.4. Source of Ground Beef
vacuum-packaged patties
The source of raw materials for the production of LF and HF patties were the beef pectoralis muscle and 75:25 coarse ground beef, respectively, purchased from a local supplier (Readfield Meats, Bryan, TX, USA). The muscle raw materials were ground, and 4-ounce (115 g) patties were formed in a patty maker, individually vacuum-packaged, and stored at −20 °C. Prior to the initiation of each phase of the ground beef interventions, each participant received an unlabeled box containing 25 frozen, vacuum-packaged patties. Chemical analysis of the ground beef after patty formation indicated that raw LF patties contained 5% fat (6 g fat/patty) and HF patties contained 24% fat (27 g fat/patty) (