Once upon a time, not very long ago, you went to the grocery store — not a big box store, or a warehouse club or online — and bought “chicken.” Now the poultry section can be a confusing mish-mash of labels that may not mean what consumers think they mean, or may not mean anything at all. [More]
chicken
“Organic” Chicken Is Different Than “Antibiotic-Free” And “Natural” Means Nothing
By 12.19.13 — Updated: 12.19.16
Consumer Reports Finds Potentially Harmful Bacteria All Over Chicken Breasts
By 12.19.13
While hundreds of people around the country were getting sick from the recent salmonella outbreak, our co-workers at Consumer Reports just happened to be looking into the tiny life forms clinging to that popular poultry offering, the chicken breast. The results — that potentially harmful bacteria are lurking on and in almost every single chicken breast for sale at the supermarket — may not shock you, but they do highlight the growing concern over everything from what chickens are fed to how their meat is handled and prepared. [More]
Why Are Poultry Processing Plants Boiling Millions Of Birds Alive?
By 10.30.13
Most Americans eat meat, but that doesn’t mean that they want the animals destined for their plates to suffer a painful death. Yet U.S. Department of Agriculture records show that every year, almost a million birds are plunged into boiling water by accident because of small failures within the largely mechanized slaughter process. [More]
Your Wendy’s Chicken Sandwich Should Not Be Served Medium Rare
By 10.25.13
A frequent knock against fast food chicken is that it’s dry and overcooked. But a leathery slab of chicken would be preferable to this pink-in-the-middle sandwich some unlucky Wendy’s customer bit into. [More]
Just How Much Chicken Meat Is In Your Chicken Nugget?
By 10.4.13
Chicken nuggets remain a source of mystery for many fast food customers (who often don’t hesitate to chow down after briefly pondering why that one piece looks like a boot), as they generally don’t come from unprocessed cuts of white or dark meat. And so researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center performed an “autopsy” on some nuggets to see what they came up with. [More]
McDonald’s Testing Chicken & Waffles In California
By 9.20.13
Chicken and waffles can be a divisive menu item, with some people smacking their lips at the prospect while others maintaining that chicken is not a breakfast food and should not be consumed with a traditional breakfast item. Were the nation’s largest burger chain to suddenly unleash such a product nationwide, it might rip this country in two. Perhaps that is why McDonald’s is merely testing the idea in at least one California eatery. [More]
Are McDonald’s Mighty Wings To Blame For Higher Chicken Prices?
By 8.30.13
Even though you can get chicken wings at any number of restaurants and bars across this great nation — and they are incredibly easy to cook at home — some people are still excited by the notion that they’ll be able to get “Mighty” wings from McDonald’s starting next week. But are these wings going to cause the price of chicken to soar? [More]
Quit Washing Your Chicken: It Just Sprays Germs Everywhere
By 8.26.13 — Updated: 8.11.14
Generations of American cooks are wrong. They learned their wrongity wrongity wrong habits from their parents, or from public television’s Julia Child. Their terrible, filthy habit is rinsing poultry before cooking. Public health experts estimate that as many as 90% of Americans do it, and they want us to cut it out. [More]
Do Food Regulators Care If Foreign Farmers Use Veterinary Drugs Banned In The U.S.?
By 8.21.13
Later this week, the United Nations food standards agency will be meeting in Minneapolis to discuss, among other things, standards for ten veterinary drugs that are banned for use in the U.S. but not globally. Fearing that continued use of these drugs by farmers in other countries could result in these banned chemicals still reaching the American market, a group of consumer advocates have called on federal regulators to not only take a tougher stance, but to stop encouraging the use of these drugs elsewhere. [More]
Chicken Processing Plant Worker: I Will Never Eat Fast Food Nuggets Again
By 3.5.13
While there are plenty of people who would rather not imagine where their food comes from, many of us would like to know more about how, for example, a chicken goes from clucking and pecking to one of four shapes of Chicken McNugget. During a recent “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit, a current employee of a Perdue chicken processing plant was glad to answer questions, as well as admit he or she will never eat chicken nuggets from a fast food joint ever again. [More]
People Realize Chicken Thighs Taste Good, Now Cost Same As Breasts
By 5.1.12
For too long, chicken thighs were the ignored child of the chicken meat family, relegated to bulk packs at ridiculously low prices. For people that knew what to do with the less-desired but more flavorful dark meat, it meant tasty meals that didn’t break the bank. But the secret is now out, and consumers are starting to pay top dollar for the one-time bargain poultry parts. [More]
FDA Bans "Extra-Label" Uses Of Popular Class Of Antibiotics On Farm Animals
By 1.4.12
For those of you who are concerned about the amount of antibiotics being given to the cows, chickens, pigs and turkeys that provide (or end up as) the food on your plate, here’s some good news. The Food and Drug Administration has announced a new regulation that prohibits “extra-label” uses of a popular class of antibiotics. [More]
Popeye's Introduces Scoop-Shaped Chicken Nuggets
By 10.3.11
Popeye’s has created a new batch of fried chicken nuggets that feature a spoon-like curvature to them to make it easier to scoop up dipping sauce. This fast food innovation is dubbed “Dip’n Chick’n.” [More]
My Rotisserie Chicken Has a Chemical Found In Brake Fluid
By 1.19.11
Daniel took a hard look at the label on a rotisserie chicken he picked up at the supermarket and was unnerved to find propylene glycol on the pictured label. [More]
Scientists Genetically Modify Chickens To Not Pass On Avian Flu
By 1.17.11
As bird flu threatens to morph into a virus that can be passed from human to human, British scientists have taken a step forward in preventing the spread of the deadly epidemic by producing genetically modified chickens which are unable to transmit the flu to other creatures. [More]
What Mechanically Separated Chicken Looks Like
By 10.5.10
Mmm yummers, after the jump, here’s a picture of some mechanically separated poultry. We didn’t want to put it on the front page because it is so gross, so if you click through, that is your fault. [More]
Popeyes Decides It's Time To Play Chicken With KFC
By 8.26.10
For years, Popeyes has been bragging about the quality of its fried chicken, but now that the fast food chain says they beat KFC in an independent national taste test, it’s decided to take the battle right to the Colonel with a new marketing campaign that pits Louisiana against Kentucky. [More]
Free Smoothies At Boston Market This Saturday
By 8.12.10
This Saturday Boston Market is giving away free smoothies at participating stores in a few states. [More]
