KDKA.com Consumer Web Extras
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May 13, 2008 5:55 pm US/Eastern
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Is Your Poultry "Plumped Up" With Salt, Water?
(KDKA)
Some poultry companies have been injecting products with broth or immersing them in salty solutions to try to make them tastier and more tender.
But pumping up meat can also add water weight and sodium.
Consumer Reports found chicken and turkey products with up to 30 percent of their weight from broth, flavoring solution, or water.
Plus sodium levels were far higher than in poultry that hadn't been juiced up.
A Prestage Premium Young Turkey Breast "contains approximately 15%" of a solution.
At a cost of $14.61 that means you could be paying up to $2.19 for the added liquid.
And an enhanced turkey has a hefty 390 milligrams of sodium per serving.
Consumer Reports took a look at a package of Tyson Chicken Wing Sections.
"100% All Natural" is in large print, but look closer at the fine print and you'll find "contains up to 12% broth."
Seventy percent of people Consumer Reports surveyed last year said that they think the label "natural" should mean no salt water is added.
For now, though, if you want to avoid extra sodium or paying for liquid in poultry, you need to read labels carefully.
Consumer Reports says when you see poultry with 1 percent to 3 percent liquid, that's probably from processing—not water or broth that's been added.
The Department of Agriculture is under pressure from Congress and some in the poultry industry to tighten the rules on poultry that's being enhanced with solution.
The USDA says it's looking into the practice.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)