December 29, 2006

Chester outpaces turkey in Brazil this season

Chickens reared through genetic selection programmes have proven popular as an alternative to turkey for holiday celebrations this year in Brazil.

Biologists at Brazil's second-largest food processor, Perdigao, have created "chester", a chicken that costs less than a turkey and has more meat than a standard chicken.

Chester won two-thirds of Brazil's poultry sales in the lead-up to, and during, the holiday season.

Consumers' preferred the bird for its lower cost compared to turkey, and found it tender with a great flavour.

Chester sales have been on a record pace this year, up 5 percent from last year, according to Ricardo Menezes, Perdigao's institutional relations director.

In 1979, Perdigao biologists went to the US in search of chickens with "superior genetic material", said Ideraldo Luiz Lima, a biologist and the manager of Perdigao's agriculture department.

The company does not use hormones in the birds. What they did over many years was to pick the best birds for reproduction, feeding them natural grains, which gives the meat unrivalled tenderness, he said.