On Saturday afternoon, I stopped at the ShopRite in Rochelle Park to take a closer look at the Perdue chicken being sold for 50% off today through Oct. 3. What I saw convinced me that this is among the worst chicken you can buy.
For example, a Perdue pre-seasoned roaster is "enhanced" with up to 17% seasoned chicken broth. That means you are paying 17% of the price for broth, not poultry. This 6-pound bird is going for a mere $4.99, but it likely was raised on antibiotics and there's nothing on the label about a vegetarian diet. So it might have eaten feed with bits of dead chicken.
Yet the label has the meaningless phrase "All natural," and notes the chicken contains no hormones or steroids, which are barred by federal rules anyway, so why is it on the label if not to deceive the consumer.
The unseasoned Perdue roaster was selling for less than half the price of the Readington Farms roaster ($1.89 a pound), which is fed a vegetarian diet and raised without antibiotics. ShopRite rarely puts Readington Farms poultry on sale. A Coleman organic roaster was selling for $2.99 a pound on Saturday with a $2 off coupon attached.
Unfortunately its probably far from the worst chicken, there are a couple brands of chicken I have seen at Shoprite that could easily be mistaken for turkey due to the size. Amick Farms brand is one name that sticks out in particular. There is no way a naturally fed chicken that is not on antibiotics and hormones can grow this big.
ReplyDeleteAmick. That's a new one on me. I guess Perdue isn't the worst. Maybe Tyson holds that title. Last year, I think it was, they were ordered to stop saying on their labels that the chickens didn't receive antibiotics, when they did.
ReplyDeleteAbout 2 years ago I bought a family pack of Amick Farms boneless chicken breast at Shoprite in Lodi. The first night I tried to make a stir fry out of it. The meat was so tough it was unreal. Of course the size of each breast was huge. Next I tried making chicken parm out of it, figuring between being shallow fried in olive oil and baked in the oven for 25 minutes it wouldnt be so tough. It was to no avail, same result, chicken so pumped up with so much growth hormones that its tough as nails.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amickfarms.com/amickfarms/consumer.html
What a nightmare. Readington Farms chickens are relatively small, and my wife prefers the taste to those from Murray's, the drug-free brand sold at Fairway Market.
ReplyDeleteI have had both Readington and Murray's as well, but I prefer the Murray's. I guess Perdue is the best of the worst.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Readington Farms chicken is the only poultry I buy, I can't seem to find any company information. With the deception of most brands kept in mind, this makes me wonder where the chickens are farmed. If anyone knows, I would love to find out.
ReplyDeleteI've actually seen a Readington Farms truck on one or two occasions around here. The chickens are farmed in Pennsylvania.
ReplyDeleteHi, was doing my own research and thought I could help answer a few questions.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Free Farmed, Readington Farms is part of a larger farming group called Springer Mountain farms. They're listed on the American Humane site as the only certified poultry producer in the country, which jives with the Certified labels I've seen on Readington Farms chicken.
I also found a list of environmental releases for them, including one that puts them in the best 10% of producers in the country for toxic releases and waste.
http://www.freefarmed.org/producers.htm
http://thehumanetouch.org/certified-producers
http://scorecard.goodguide.com/env-releases/facility.tcl?tri_id=08888DRLNGPOBOX
Thank you so much for this information.
ReplyDeleteThe environmental angle is important, given all the pollution in the Delmarva Peninsula from chicken waste that is improperly disposed of.
Why everyone is an expert. I am a chicken farmer and I am on the Delmarva Peninsula. I grow for Perdue. My farm is spotless, my nutrient management and my comprehensive nutrient management are complete and my farm participates in all Natural Resources Conservation Service programs we are eligible for. My chicken waste is stored inside in an approved EPA/MDE/MDA structure and every time I move, apply, transport or move one "particle" of manure it has to be logged and accounted for. I am subject to environmental inspections from Perdue, as well as a host state and federal agencies. As part of my contract with Perdue they spell out equipment I need to have in place, to heat, cool, feed, water and generally make life comfortable for our birds. We utilize computers to constantly adjust the birds environment to maximize it's comfort. Why, because we want the chickens to eat and drink to obtain it's ideal broiler weight. And growth hormones are not used and no chicken products are in the feed. Bio-security is paramount. So please, knock off the irresponsible comments. Bashing the traditional farming community has become all too frequent due to the fact that only 1% of our country's population is involved in agriculture.
ReplyDeleteThe birds get antibiotics, of course. You don't address that.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago I bought Amick chicken breasts from Kroger because it was a good sale. I am usually very careful about buying meat but it looked good and I figured I'd give it a try. Never again!
ReplyDeleteThe package I bought was close to 2 lbs. I was shocked when I opened it to find only 2 very large chicken breasts. I began to feel quite unsettled when realizing that most human females don't have breasts this large!
I tried fixing one as oven BBQ chicken. It was like eating rubber. So the other one I sliced into tenders, soaked in buttermilk, and breaded with corn flake crumbs. Sure to be tender and tasty! Still nothing but awful rubber texture!
All of it's going in the garbage and I will never buy Amick again. The worst chicken I've ever purchased. Shame on Kroger for selling such inferior products!
I totally agree...I will never buy Amick chicken again. It glisten after cooking and just didn't taste right at all!!
DeleteAgree with 'Anonymous' on 9/19/11. Just made some Amick boneless skinless breasts tonight. The consistency was rubbery, yet too soft. Just very strange--something I'd never experienced with any meat before.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed odd when I took it out of the package. It was coated in a gelatinous/gummy film type thing, sort of translucent in color. I rinsed it off the breasts, but still didn't feel good about cooking it.
Mind you, I only bought this package of chicken breasts yesterday at Kroger, and the sell by date is a week from now! So, I doubt freshness is the issue.
There's just something incredibly funky about the consistency and texture of Amick chicken breasts. Never again!
Breasts can only get that big if the chicken is raised with antibiotics. What you describe is alarming.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the Amick Farms Web site and about the only things it says are that chickens are grain fed and after they're killed the meat is pumped full of a phosphate solution, which is basically salted water, what Amick Farms calls a marination process.
Usually, the percentage of water is listed on the label.
The chickens are referred to as "premium," but that's not backed up in any way.
You'll find a phone number on the site. Call to complain, ask for a refund and see what happens. Then, buy a brand that says it is raised without antibiotics and raised on vegetarian feed. You'll love it.
http://www.amickfarms.com/amickfarms/consumer.html