Chicken at the supermarket + additives

[SaddenedDem]

Has anyone else noticed what is happening to the chicken at your grocery stores? Because we have to watch the amount of sodium in foods around here, I always check labels before buying foods.

The sodium content in "fresh" chicken has suddenly gone through the roof because they are adding "chicken flavoring" so the plastic they now call chicken actually resembles the taste we're use to.

In other words, your "chicken" is now being soaked in "flavoring" which consists almost entirely of salt so you might continue to eat it. Butterball, and all the major brands are doing it. The only brand which hadn't added this garbage to chicken was Tyson.

The amount of sodium is the full daily allowance for a healthy person in one piece of chicken.

[eyesroll]

1. Wow. And we're boycotting Tyson

(www.tysonfamiliesstandup.org -- This plant is about 30 minutes west of us.)

I don't buy chicken very often as it is. I think I'll stick to the free-range stuff at the health-food store. (I suspect I need to read labels there, too, though.)

[SaddenedDem]

3. It's possible

That there was no Tyson treated chicken at this store because they only carried whole Tyson chickens. There were no cut pieces under the Tyson brand.

The scary part is that only the cut pieces were marked as "flavoring added" so one has to wonder if they are required to label the whole chicken.

Also, nutrition information (sodium content, etc.) is only labeled on cut pieces.

It's entirely possible Tyson is doing it as well, but skating under regulations because they don't "process" the chicken by cutting it up, thus omitting the nutrition labeling.

[Mairead]

2. I'll bet it's not merely sodium, but also water to raise the selling price

It's an old gag -- hose down the salted hams and suddenly they weigh more.

[SaddenedDem]

4. Actually, the label also says....

Less than 5% water retention. Not that anyone could prove that's true.

[welshTerrier2]

5. Organic Chicken

we only buy organic chicken at the local Whole Market ... it costs more but it's well worth every penny ... it's not just the flavor or the lack of additives either; the chicken is really tender ... the difference is very noticeable ...

and amazingly enough, it tastes like chicken ...

[FlaGranny]

8. Interestingly, I bought an "organic" chicken

the other day for the first time. My uncle had an egg farm many years ago and his chickens were "organic." They were fed only grain and were not caged. This was also before antibiotics were used. Most of our chicken (and eggs) came from his farm. I had forgotten the taste of chicken from all those years ago, but that organic chicken brought it all back.

[TreasonousBastard]

9. Ever try kosher chicken?

Costs more, but Empire is available at a lot of supermarkets around here and actually tastes like chicken. Lots less fat and waste, too.

Probably not free range, but you can't fool around with kosher chickens like you do with typical factory chickens.

[BiggJawn]

6. "Flavor Enhanced", "Tender Tastee", "Enhanced with up 10% of a solution...

Not just chicken, they also do it to pork, and i hate it.

First, I'm paying $1.99 a pound for water and chemicals that didn't cost 2 cents.

Second, I consider meats treated with this shit as "Adulterated". If I want to buy a "pre-seasoned" pork roast or chicken, fine. But if I don't, I should be able to buy pure meats without any "enhancments". Some stores offer you a choice, Most the ones around here don't.

And third, I don't like they way this stuff cooks up. I think they did it for people who don't know how to cook, because whenI've cooked the stuff, it comes off the grill soggy and mushy in texture. I don't consider mushy to be "tender"...

Like I said, "Adulterated"...I wrote the home office of the store i used to buy a lot of pork from, and their reply was pretty much "Tough shit, Sherlock, most our customers are horrible cooks, and they LOVE it."

I buy all my meat at the local IGA, and it comes from Indiana Packers. It's da bomb.

[randr]

7. Talking with your grocer

can be much more effective than any boycott. Especially if you organize your friends to ask for products that are not full of fill. Ask for a better product and then buy it.

[shanti]

10. one thing about chicken

that was told to me several years ago...you should only buy WHOLE chickens, and cut them up yourself/have the butcher do it. apparently, in the processing plant, damaged chicken parts are just cut off and the rest is SOLD to us as chicken parts. at least when you buy a whole chicken, what you see is what you get.

also, many people don't wash their meat or chicken before cooking. i know my mother never did, but i sure do! fecal matter is often in the "baths" that the meat is given during processing...yech! e coli!

[denverbill]

11. It ain't just chicken.

Our King Soopers pretreats ALL of it's pork products by soaking in brine. 'Moist and Tender' is the brandname. Now, some chefs do recommend brining pork to make it moister, but as far as I'm concerned, the only reason they are doing it is because it makes the meat weigh more.

If I wanted brined meat, I'll brine it myself.

Oh, and if you buy your meat at Walmart, both pork and beef are brined there. Not sure about the chicken.

For now, I buy pork at Safeway, beef and chicken (RedBird) at King Soopers.