US groups seek label changes for saltwater-injected chickens

 

 

Two US organisations and a Senator have called for the USDA to drop the ''100% All Natural'' labelling for poultry injected with saltwater, a practice that is criticised as misleading and deceitful.

 

The injections, known as plumping or enhancing, have become a common practice with many shoppers none the wiser. More than two-thirds of consumers who purchase sodium-injected chickens were unaware that it contained sodium additives, according to a Foster Farms consumer survey.

 

Consumer group Centre for Science in the Public Interest, grower group California Poultry Federation and Senator Barbara Boxer want the USDA to shed more light on the injections by preventing processors from labelling injected chickens as ''100% All Natural''.

 

 

Critics say the injections cause consumers to take in more sodium than what health experts recommended and they pay for it because the injections add up to 15% weight to the product. Critics are not asking for a ban on the practice, but for more forthright labelling guidelines.

 

Senator Boxer says the extra weight amounts to about US$2 billion in higher costs because consumers pay by the pound for most chicken products. That is unfair to the consumers, especially during these difficult times, according to Boxer.

 

Casey Owens, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas' Department of Poultry Sciences, said one reason that poultry processors use the injections is that consumers prefer the flavour and texture of the product. The injections do improve the eating quality and tenderness of the product, she said.

 

Under current USDA guidelines, the warnings alerting consumers to the added ingredients can be one-fourth the size of the product name. But Boxer said most consumers see the all-natural label and do not look further to investigate other content. She is calling for new guidelines that will help consumers make a more informed choice.

 

Although chicken, salt and water are all natural substances, combining them will produce something that is no longer natural, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest.

 

A serving of an injected chicken can contain more than five times the amount of sodium as a serving of regular chicken, Boxer said. A serving of chicken typically has 70 milligrams of sodium, but a serving of the injected chicken can contain about 370 milligrams. The Institute of Medicine just last week lowered the daily recommended amount of sodium to 1,500 milligrams per day.