DSC HFT 2000f Fat Analyzer Now Used By L.A. County Food Inspectors to Protect Consumers From Grocer's Mislabeled 'Lean' Ground Beef

FAT ANALYZER FROM DSC NOW USED BY L.A. COUNTY
FOOD INSPECTORS TO PROTECT CONSUMERS
FROM GROCER’S MISLABELED ‘LEAN’ GROUND BEEF

L.A. Inspectors Among First to Adopt New and Improved Fat Testing Method

ENCINO, Calif. (July 6, 2004) – Grocery meat inspectors throughout Los Angeles are now employing the most accurate, precise and reliable equipment available to test the percentage of fat in ground beef labeled and advertised as “lean.” The HFT-2000 Fat Analyzer by Data Support Company Inc. (DSC) is the method of choice for Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services’ Environmental Health division when conducting routine consumer protection inspections of fat analysis methods and labeling requirements at supermarkets and other ground beef retailers.

The HFT-2000 by DSC, a leader in the fat and moisture analyzer sales industry, replaces the County’s previously used 50-year-old antiquated testing equipment, which has been proven to produce erroneous results in cuts of meat containing less than 10 percent fat. While 400 Costco stores nationwide use the HFT-2000 to test fat levels in their ground beef, thousands of other supermarkets use the antiquated fat testing units once employed by inspectors. The County’s move to update fat analyzers for inspections will prevent Los Angeles consumers from being misled by labels marketing meat as leaner than it actually is.

Los Angeles County Environmental Health specialists concluded in field tests of the HFT-2000 that as ground beef continues to be marketed at increasingly lower fat levels, the accuracy of old testing methods is substantially diminished. Specialist Richard Lavin called the HFT-2000 “an invaluable tool for monitoring the lower fat percentages in ground beef items.” The county has taken a proactive lead in enforcing the most accurate labeling of fat content prior to new label laws set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which go into effect in January 2005.

Lavin said, “The HFT-2000 is used in our Consumer Protection Program, in which retail establishments that sell ground beef are selected at random and various levels of fat verified against the fat percentages advertised, posted or indicated on the product label. With very lean ground meats, the HFT-2000 has proved to be superior in accuracy compared to testing methods previously used. The HFT-2000 will assist the Department’s efforts to insure that the leaner ground beef food items are sold as advertised.”
- more -

LA COUNTY USES HFT-2000
2-2-2

The patented HFT-2000 uses microprocessor-based, chemical-free technology to yield a digital readout of fat content in minutes at the touch of a button. Traditional fat testers, still used by thousands of supermarkets and municipal grocery meat department inspectors across the nation, are inaccurate when testing ground beef leaner than 20 percent fat. While traditional fat testers boast an accuracy of ± 2 percent, the HFT-2000 accurately measures fat content to within 0.5 percent and can measure samples with as low as 1 percent fat content.

Dan Banayan, president of DSC and inventor of the HFT-2000, said the adoption of the unit by Los Angeles County health inspectors brings accuracy to meat nutritional labels as well as validity to the HFT-2000.

“Supermarkets have been reluctant to change their current fat testing methods due to cost, and because they haven’t been forced to,” Banayan said. “But we’re beginning to see a change, especially now that inspectors are using modern equipment in comparative testing. Also, consumers are becoming more savvy about the nutritional content of their food, particularly with the popularity of low-carb, high-protein diets. We’re very pleased that L.A. County’s Environmental Health inspectors are taking the issue seriously, and that they’ve chosen the HFT-2000 to assist them in performing their jobs as accurately as possible.”

The “plug and weigh” 9-pound HFT-2000 is easy to use and requires minimal user training. Its accurate fat content analysis is based on the instrument’s ability to measure the moisture content of a sample over a range of temperatures. Simply place a palm-sized amount of beef in the instrument’s weighing chamber, close the lid and select the appropriate program from the front panel. The HFT-2000 does the remainder of the work and automatically shuts off when the test is complete (10 to 15 minutes). The results are displayed on the digital screen. Easy cleanup is also key; users simply discard the disposable filter pads and aluminum tray.

The HFT-2000 comes with a one-year warranty. For purchase information, contact DSC at
(800) 726-5883.

About DSC
Data Support Company Inc. (DSC) has provided quality service and support in the moisture and solids/fat analysis industry for more than 10 years. The company offers a complete line of new and reconditioned microwave analyzers and infrared moisture and fat analyzers. In addition, DSC offers complete service and supplies for the moisture analyzer and fat analyzer industries, including aluminum dishes, sample pads and glass fiber filter pads. For more information, visit www.dsctest.com or call (800) 726-5883.