Our group has previously reported that percentage of fatty acids within the total fatty acids shows evidence of being under genetic control. In more recent work, we are conducting a comparison of heritability estimates when the fatty acids are expressed as a percentage of the lipid (% fatty acid within the total fatty acids) or expressed as a concentration within the beef (mg fatty acid/g of beef). Expression of fatty acid concentration as mg fatty acid/g of beef is dependent upon both the concentration of lipid in the beef and the concentration of fatty acid within the lipid.