Is the fat content in your ground beef REALLY what the label promises?

When you buy ground beef, part of the price is based on the amount of fat that’s added; the leaner the meat, the more expensive it is.

If the label reads 20 percent fat, how do you know if that is really what you are getting? Could there be even more?

The ABC15 Investigators checked it out and found that you aren’t always getting what’s on the label.

We bought ground beef from grocery stores around the Valley and had it tested by a lab for the fat content.

One of the ground beef samples we purchased was labeled 15 percent fat, but when the lab tested it they found there was 19.6 percent fat in the meat.

During our investigation, we also uncovered a local chain that is being investigated by the federal government. A former butcher from the store goes on the record and tells us how he ground up the meat, effectively misleading customers about what they were buying.

We're putting the finishing touches on our tests and will have the exclusive results Monday on ABC15 News at 10.