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Why does 500g extra lean mince and 500g regular mince have the same grams of protein?

A 500g package of Coles regular mince has approximately 20g protein per 100g serve, for 230 calories, with 17g of fat:

https://shop.coles.com.au/a/national/product/coles-beef-mince-3-star-8850188p?uztq=46abcbb7e16253b0cdc3e6c5bbe6a3f0&cid=col_cpc_Generic%7CColesSupermarkets%7CPLA%7CMeat&Seafood%7CAustralia%7CBroad&s_kwcid=AL!12693!3!495628917070!!!u!364576380634!&gclid=Cj0KCQiAweaNBhDEARIsAJ5hwbdJrs4WlK-UXuFK4uK34ShBc_VsCtksKX4ZKZJsx6DNjb44dtIw-IoaAln9EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

However, the same brand, same weight of extra lean mince has 21g of protein oer 100g serve, basically the same amount, but with 5g of fat for 133 calories: https://shop.coles.com.au/a/national/product/coles-beef-lean-5-star-mince?uztq=46abcbb7e16253b0cdc3e6c5bbe6a3f0&cid=col_cpc_Generic%7CColesSupermarkets%7CPLA%7CMeat&Seafood%7CAustralia%7CBroad&s_kwcid=AL!12693!3!495628917070!!!u!364576380634!&gclid=Cj0KCQiAweaNBhDEARIsAJ5hwbei6dV_IZvojWbW0vlwsMjM7Ail1WxVqTGnuYSZwYBSnhJG2UjWViQaAnqaEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

My question is, what is making up the extra weight? Less fat, same protein, same weight? Did they just add indigestible sawdust to bulk up the weight without increasing the calories?

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Answer

Leaner meat has a higher water content.

See the nutrition info the from the USDA food database:

80/20 ground beef is 61.9% water

85/15 ground beef is 65.7% water

90/10 ground beef is 69.4% water

95/5 ground beef is 73.2% water

This is because fat cells (i.e. adipocytes) have a lower fraction of water compared to other cell types, due to the fact that most of their volume is taken up by a lipid-filled vacuole.

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