Just Say NO to Plumping!

FryBoy

FryBoy

New member
Check this editorial from today's Los Angeles Times regarding the disgusting practice of "plumping":

"What Goes Into Chicken"

Plumping is the injection of meat and poultry products with 20% or more of water, sugar, flavorings, salt, and chemicals, yet in many cases they can still label it as "natural." As the subhead in the editorial says,
Think it tastes like chicken? Broth-like additives can constitute more than a fifth of the bird's weight. Such enhanced meats should be conspicuously labeled at grocery stores.
​
 
It's not just chicken, it's all meat! Luckily my grocery sells additive free chicken and pork next to the "solution added" stuff. They don't sell any beef with solutions added, but Wal-Mart even adds it to their steaks! I guess some people don't mind, but I find the flavor to be disgusting. This is probably my biggest food related pet peeve. Read your labels folks!
 
Yeah, good luck with finding unplumped chicken!

I contacted Tyson Foods about their enhanced chicken...

Their answer was that customer surveys had shown that the enhanced chicken was
MUCH PREFERRED by consumers. Which I took to mean "get used to it buddy."

Personally, I believe this is just a profit move. Adding 18% water to the weight of something sold by weight is a HUGE HUGE HUGE profit increase overall.

Scary thing is... most people WOULD like the enhanced better... it has more SALT.
 
must be a west coast thing.

checked my local Giant - both store brand and Perdue - _none_ of the whole or pieces had anything in them. packages state may contain up to x% retained water - retained water is USDA defined as left over from washing/processing. the x% varies from 1% on skinless boneless breast to 4% on whole chicken or large cuts - like "half" a chicken (bone in)

I did find individually wrapped "convenience portions" of Purdue "Italian, etc style" chicken - which was clearly labeled "may contain up to 18% injected junk." - two 'bins' of stuff on the shelf in about 40 feet of chicken options.

now whether "natural" should be used for injected junk that is "natural" is a whole 'nother debate - I mean one doesn't find a chicken laying on its back with no feathers in its natural state either . . .
 
ChowderMan said:
must be a west coast thing.

checked my local Giant - both store brand and Perdue - _none_ of the whole or pieces had anything in them. packages state may contain up to x% retained water - retained water is USDA defined as left over from washing/processing. the x% varies from 1% on skinless boneless breast to 4% on whole chicken or large cuts - like "half" a chicken (bone in)

I did find individually wrapped "convenience portions" of Purdue "Italian, etc style" chicken - which was clearly labeled "may contain up to 18% injected junk." - two 'bins' of stuff on the shelf in about 40 feet of chicken options.

now whether "natural" should be used for injected junk that is "natural" is a whole 'nother debate - I mean one doesn't find a chicken laying on its back with no feathers in its natural state either . . .
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Not according to Consumer Reports, which said this in a June 2008 article:
Buying this chicken?
You could pay up to $1.70 for broth

Perdue, Pilgrim's Pride, and some other poultry companies inject, immerse, or vacuum-tumble some of their products with broth or salty solutions to try to make them more tasty, juicy, and tender. But pumping up meats can also add water weight and sodium. The Department of Agriculture requires labels on what it terms "enhanced" poultry and meat, including beef and pork, to reveal the amount of solution but has set no maximum level. The practice has become so prevalent, some chicken producers say, that about 30 percent of chicken sold at market may be enhanced.

When our reporter visited eight supermarkets in the Washington, D.C., area he found chicken and turkey products ballooned with 10 to 30 percent of their weight as broth, flavoring solution, or water. Sodium levels ranged from 190 to 840 milligrams per serving, far higher than in poultry that isn't juiced up. That some of these enhanced products claim they're "natural" is ruffling feathers. Seventy percent of people surveyed by the Consumer Reports National Research Center last June said they think that the label "natural" should mean no salt water was added.

The USDA is under pressure from Congress and even some in the poultry industry to tighten the rules, and a USDA spokeswoman says the agency is determining its next steps. Meanwhile, to avoid paying chicken prices for salt water, you'll need to read labels.
​
Check the video on the ConsumerReports.org: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...-to-products/overview/enhanced-poultry-ov.htm
 
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Keltin said:
How is this any different at all from brining a chicken before you cook it?
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It tastes very artificial, and it turns the meat into a rubber like texture. Regular chicken meat is fibrous, but the processed stuff is more like a pressed chicken patty made from ground up chicken.
 
When you brine, the liquid and salt aren't injected into the meat, you know what's in it, and you don't pay $5 a pound for it.
 
But you pay for the brine materials. You pay for the salt, the herbs, the spices, and even the water. You pay for it all.

Griping because they pre-brine (or injection - but where are the needle holes?) is ignoring the fact that YOU would have to PAY for a brine of some sorts to combat the fact the chicken is leaner, less fat, less flavor, and will dry out while cooking.

Either way, you will pay for it. You either pay the extra for their injections, or you pay for the brine material and then spend your time to do it before you cook.

It is no different than buying a whole loin for 2.99 per pound, or buying sliced chops for 4.99 a pound. You have to pay for the extra work done. No one works for free, and material isn’t free.

If they don’t inject it, then YOU have to be smart enough to buy the brine material and brine the bird yourself. This costs money and time.

Not everyone is that smart, and some would try to cook a leaner bird normally and end up with a dried out carcass and assume that the company was shite for selling an inferior bird.

Not at all, it was lack of knowledge on the cook’s part. If EVERYONE knew to brine and protect a bird properly while cooking, it might not be a problem. But since there are so many that just throw it in the heat and forget it till it’s a dried mess, the company takes steps to make things easier for you.

Cure stupidity amongst the world’s cook’s, and perhaps injections won’t be necessary…..but you’ll have to buy all that material yourself, and then spend the time yourself to treat the bird.

Which do you rather? Spend your time and money, or pay a few cents extra for someone to do it for you?

When you present a product to the public, you must take into account the user’s knowledge level. I release code with safeguards to keep users from deleting all accounts and locking their system. Most users wouldn’t do that, but we have had some that do. In order to keep customers from complaining that our product is faulty, I have to anticipate how BAD the user is going to be, and counter-act it before they can do it.

This injection does just that.

But you can also buy free-range birds and brine them yourself…..or cook them to a dry husk if you like.

And injections are a very popular method of “marinating” a bird. Just look at the fried turkey rage and how that has put injections on the map. You can now find injections kits in every supermarket.

These are everywhere!

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_65272?cm_mmc=froogle-_-800-1-1-_--1-_-38-603-381-01&hvarAID=froogle&mr:trackingCode=DA4835A9-E881-DE11-B712-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA

 
RobsanX said:
It tastes very artificial, and it turns the meat into a rubber like texture. Regular chicken meat is fibrous, but the processed stuff is more like a pressed chicken patty made from ground up chicken.
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After years of using and cooking whole chickens and parts, I've NEVER seen that. Maybe your chicken was bad? I've certainly never had that problem.
 
I'll do it myself, thank you. At least I know what I'm adding, and I'm not paying $5 a pound for water.
 
You're missing the point, Keltin -- the problem is that this sh*t is NOT CLEARLY LABELED -- or worse, it's FALSELY LABELED as "natural."
 
FryBoy said:
You're missing the point, Keltin -- the problem is that this sh*t is NOT CLEARLY LABELED -- or worse, it's FALSELY LABELED as "natural."
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#1 - What is not natural about this “sh*t” being salt and water. Last I checked, that’s purely natural, and makes up the majority of the weight of any living carbonite on this planet. Salt…….Water…….natural.

#2 - Where have you seen birds or other meat that have been “secretly injected” by the Men In Black and not labeled?

#3 - If those meats and birds were secretly injected and not labeled, how do YOU know they were secretly injected, not labeled, and passed off to you? Was reading the Enquirer enough to get you up in arms?

#4 - If they label it as “injected” then there you go. Hams always say injected (or “added”) with a water solution of saline and H2O. It’s right there on the package, and we don’t bunch our knickers and call the CDC.

Where is your gripe with this. It’s standard practice? It’s also something that you personally would do (if you're worth your salt as a cook) when you brine your meat. You’re really just stamping your feet because “the man” brined your bird before you got to do it. If YOU do it, it’s called good cooking, but if “the man” does it, then it’s a conspiracy. Please.

But, buy a Free Range or Green Wise bird……you’ll pay 3 dollars more per pound, but they aren’t “touched” and you can brine it yourself……or just cook it to a dry and unflavorful husk.
 
Personally, I don't generally brine my chickens, and they taste just fine. Haven't
had a dried out or tasteless one yet.

I DON'T want to pay the extra 18% cost for essentially WATER.

For a 5 pound chicken @ $1.49 a pound, that 18% brine cost me $1.34...

I am pretty sure I can brine it myself for a lot less money.

For a 3 pound steak with 14% solution, @ 4.99 a pound, that's an extra $2.09
for essentially WATER.

It makes a SIGNIFICANT difference in the amount we pay.... and the amount the
company makes.

That doesn't bother you, Keltin?

edit to add... It also significantly increases teh amount of salt in the product. For those who must limit salt intake,
it makes it very difficult to do so.
 
Don't even get me started on hams! They are so full of freakin' water these days, it's pathetic! I sampled a piece of ham from the local meat market recently, and it was like I died and went to Heaven! Perfectly cured, smoked, very tender, and the texture was just like hams were when I was a kid. Much better than chewing on these smoked sponges that they try to pass off as hams these days!
 
Kimchee said:
Personally, I don't generally brine my chickens, and they taste just fine. Haven't
had a dried out or tasteless one yet.

I DON'T want to pay the extra 18% cost for essentially WATER.

For a 5 pound chicken @ $1.49 a pound, that 18% brine cost me $1.34...

I am pretty sure I can brine it myself for a lot less money.

For a 3 pound steak with 14% solution, @ 4.99 a pound, that's an extra $2.09
for essentially WATER.

It makes a SIGNIFICANT difference in the amount we pay.... and the amount the
company makes.

That doesn't bother you, Keltin?
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Personally, I’ve never seen that little sticker saying my chicken was injected. I cooked it just fine.

So, if it WAS secretly injected and not told to me, then that little injection helped because my grilled chicken is always moist and flavorful.

If it wasn’t injected, then WTF is the point of this thread. I’m cooking my chicken just fine. I pay the same bit every day for it, and I cook it to perfection every time.

So……..if it IS secretly injected, then I suppose it helps. But I’ve seen no labels about it.

If it is NOT injected, then so be it because my chicken rocks.

I’m not seeing a single iota of a point to this whole “the men in black are poking our chickens” thread. What is the point? What pot is supposed to be stirred?

My chickens don’t say they were injected, and they are fine.

So, there we are. I buy chickens, cook them, and they are perfect. Were they secretly injected???? Hmmmmmm………it wasn’t on the label……the chicken was good……but did “the man” touch my bird???? Hmmmmm……..

I read all my labels, an none of them say secretly injected…….and all of my chicken is fine. Not sure what the hoolah is here?

And IF…..IF it is injected with water and salt…..so what. Any good cook would brine their meat anyway. I’ve had the luxury of not having to do that with any of my birds. Instead, I cut and trim, then cook, and great bird. Was there a secret injection that helped that? Well, it wasn’t on the package, and it tasted great.

This smacks of a huge Enquirer conspiracy that SNopes should grab hold of. None of my meat is labeled as injected (other than hams), the prices haven’t jumped. Chicken is still damn cheap, and it cooks well.

My big gripe is beef……prices on that is jumping through the roof while chicken is staying stable.
 
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RobsanX said:
Don't even get me started on hams! They are so full of freakin' water these days, it's pathetic! I sampled a piece of ham from the local meat market recently, and it was like I died and went to Heaven! Perfectly cured, smoked, very tender, and the texture was just like hams were when I was a kid. Much better than chewing on these smoked sponges that they try to pass off as hams these days!
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That's why you should do like DW did this past week and buy a shoulder while it's on sell, and then have your husband slow smoke it.

Ever smoke a shoulder and try to get it to come out like a cured ham......pretty damn hard. Needless to say, we didn't have HAM.....we had pulled pork. There is a LOT to curing a shoulder and making it a ham. And it is more than I have invested in my equipment here. And I'm certainly not spending a few thousand to get that set up for 1 or 2 true hams a year.
 
I'd say it's highly unlikely one would be 'fooled' by - or 'accidentally' buy - the 18% stuff I saw in our market. a chicken breast sealed in a bag with lots of free liquid running about and marked color difference. the amount of free liquid in the package could not be packaged on the typical foam tray with heat stuck over-wrap - it'd leak all over everything.

I looked very carefully to see if it said anything about 'injected' - it did not - just that the package may contain up to 18% water and xxx, xxx.

to me it looked like an overdone marinade - not altogether dissimilar from corned beef, for example.
 
Here's Tyson's 100% Natural Chicken label.
You can't read it in this photo, but below where it says
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, it says something along the
lines of:
"Enhanced with up to an 18% solution of....."

Here's the company spin from their website:

SPRINGDALE, Ark (May 2007)—Tyson Foods, Inc. is converting its entire food service line of marinated, uncooked chicken to 100% All Natural™. The company’s non-marinated, uncooked chicken, which is already produced without artificial ingredients, will also be marketed under the 100% All Natural banner.

Tyson is the first food service manufacturer to offer a full line of marinated, uncooked, all natural products. The company uses a proprietary process called Enhanced Flavor Technology™ (EFT™) to deliver the same consistent quality product that you have come to trust, now with reduced sodium, a cleaner label, and no artificial ingredients.
“We‘re a company driven by consumer insights and innovation,” said Sylvia Wulf, vice president of marketing for the Tyson Food Service group. “We know an increasing number of consumers want all natural chicken, yet also want the taste and juiciness of marinated product. Our new all natural line will help our customers meet that growing need.”
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(bolding mine).

Keltin, you managed to quote me, but didn't address my question..
I'm done with this topic, it must be like religion. :dizzy:
 

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I'll have to check that out.

I DID notice on my package of salmon last night that it's color was enhanced. WTF does that mean? lol IDK, it tasted pretty good.
 
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