What the cluck is happening?

26 May 2015 - 02:02 By Wendy Knowler

Did you know that 60% of all chicken sold is in the form of large frozen pieces? The pieces are injected with, on average, 30% brine - water with salt, phosphates, gums and sweeteners - before being blast-frozen and bagged.The industry calls it IQF (individually quick-frozen) chicken.During the cooking process, most of the brine seeps out, leaving considerably smaller pieces swimming in very expensive liquid.In response to cries of "rip-off", the industry has maintained that brining is intended to keep frozen chicken tender and juicy.But since the percentage of injected brine is not legally capped, here's the burning question: At what brining level does ensuring succulence end and greedy profiteering begin?That's been the crux of a debate which has been playing out since 2010, when unscrupulous producers were found to be injecting their chicken with up to 50% brine.At that time, consumers were unaware of how much water was added to their frozen chicken, because it's only been since March 2012, when new food labelling regulations came into effect, that manufacturers have been forced to declare the percentage of added brine on their packs.The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' original proposal to introduce a "brine cap" of less than 10% got the industry in a flap, predictably.Last year the department settled on a compromise proposal of a 15% brine cap on chicken pieces and 10% on whole birds.But the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has yet to act on it."We are concerned that this matter has dragged on for more than a year since action was promised by the government," said David Wolpert, CEO of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters."We can only assume now that nothing stands in the way of the minister immediately regulating to prevent any further unfair and unhealthy brining practices perpetuated mainly against the poorer population of South Africa."Failure to do so now would raise serious questions as to exactly where the minister stands on this matter - with local poultry magnates who wish to continue profiteering out of the sale of salt water masquerading as chicken, or with the hard-pressed consumer who is paying chicken prices for this water."In Your Corner has been trying since April 20 to find out the current status of the brining limit proposal, with no success. I've e-mailed several agriculture department "communication" employees, repeatedly, with no response.The current different rates of brine injection create an unfair trading environment, tricking price-sensitive consumers into believing that the excessively brined brands are better value.It's a health issue, too. Excessive dilution reduces the nutritional content of the chicken - both protein and overall kilojoule count - while greatly increasing the salt content.That's a "killer" combination, considering that IQF chicken is mainly consumed by the poorest.And as a cardiovascular physiologist told me: "I would never advise any person to purchase IQF chicken, because apart from the rip-off, black South Africans suffer from high blood pressure of the salt-sensitive type."Kevin Lovell, CEO of the SA Poultry Association, said consumers preferred the taste of "heavily brined" chicken.Asked what he considered to be a "reasonable" brining level for frozen chicken portions, he said "somewhere between 20 and 25% by mass".Astral Foods' poultry division had been hoping the government would settle on a "brine cap" of no less than 20%.Below that, the company predicted, prices would go up to the extent that it would no longer be a "value proposition" to the masses.Rainbow Chickens, on the other hand, has come out in support of the proposed 15% brine cap.The company said last year that it was likely that a new package size would emerge, with the same number of pieces, only slightly smaller, having been injected with less brine.But for now it's business as usual in IQF chicken land, and the department of agriculture is apparently not open to discussing the issue.Consumers may want to start making a bit of noise.E-mail: consumer@knowler.co.zaTwitter: @wendyknowler..

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