Nutrient Density and Microbial Safety of Open-Air-Dried Beef Meat and Its Biochemical and Organ Histopathology Effects in Albino Rats: A Promising Ingredient for Complementary Food Formulation

Table 2

Weight gain, food intake, and food efficiency ratio of rats fed with standard, mixed, and dry meat.

Parameters	Standard diet-fed rats ()	Mixed diet-fed rats ()	Dry meat-fed rats ()
Mean initial wt (g)
Mean final wt (g)
Weight gain (g)	^a	^a	^a
Mean food intake (g/day)	^a	^a	^b
Food efficiency ratio (%)	^b	^a	^a

Group I = standard diet; group II = standard diet+dry meat powder (50 : 50%); group III = dry meat powder only. The results are presented in . Means presented with the same letters across a row indicate no significant difference at .