Would you pay $8.99 a pound for salt water? If you are purchasing your chicken at a big chain supermarket, you are!
The other day I was walking through Fred Meyer. Although Fred Meyer has a great natural food section, I don’t usually purchase my meats and chicken at Fred Meyer. I prefer organic, grass fed and local, if at all possible. I want to know where my meat comes from and frankly I don’t trust the labeling or the meat and poultry products that are sold at the big chain grocery store. Today’s post will shed some light on why I feel this way.
I noticed a new product in the poultry section. The packaging on these chickens made me stop and look. Even with a trained eye, my immediate thought when I saw this packaging was, ‘Great! They are now carrying an organic heritage chicken!’
Heritage chickens are a defined breed of chickens by the American Poultry Association. They are raised naturally (this is in the true sense of the term ‘naturally’ and not the industry sense of the term). They must reproduce naturally, have a long and productive OUTDOOR lifespan and have a slow growth rate.
"Reading a great post on Clean & Lean Revolution"
↑ Tweet ThisSo, when I first looked at the package, the word “Heritage” popped out. Then I took a closer look.
After investigating the brand, here is what I found out: Heritage Farm is the new private label brand put out by Kroger, the biggest supermarket operator in the US. They own Fred Meyer, QFC, Ralph’s and Smith grocery stores, to name a few. Heritage Farm replaces the “Kroger Value” brand name and is meant to be an entry level price point product.
The marketing department did a great job! These are the same chickens – yet, which one would you feel better about buying?
We’ll talk about their tagline “Where Value Grows” in a minute. First, let’s look at the line “Enhanced with up to 15% chicken broth.” This line is very prominently placed on the package. It is almost like they are proud of this.
Plumping, or injecting, as it is called in the industry, has been going on for some time.
In the past five years, this industry process has become the standard. Fresh chicken is injected with a solution of saltwater so it stays juicier and more flavorful (so they say). The solution contains a long list of ingredients that can account for up to 15%, or more, of the chicken’s weight. Some studies have shown up to 30% weight.
Why did the industry start the practice of plumping or injecting? This again goes back to the idea that when you start to remove the fat from the product, you start to lose the taste. When breeders started growing birds with too large of breast meat (more muscle and less fat) this resulted in a dryer, less tasty bird.
A saline injection kept the bird more moist, but this still didn’t help with the flavor, SO “natural flavor” was added in the form of broth, lemon concentrates and corn syrup or other forms of sugar.
Early on sodium phosphate was also added as a binder, to help the chicken retain water during shipping and cooking. To allow for ‘low sodium’ labels, this ingredient was replaced with potassium phosphate. Since potassium phosphate makes meat taste more bitter, even more ‘natural flavors’ were needed to mask the flavor.
You will still find the words ‘All-Natural’ on the label, as long as all the ingredients that they injected into the chicken are legally considered as natural. This doesn’t sound natural to me and I know that this doesn’t sound natural to you.
If you purchase a package of injected chicken for $6, you will likely be paying at least $1 to $1.50 for the salt water solution and you are likely consuming at least 400 milligrams of added sodium. One chicken breast could eat up 20% of your sodium intake before you even start eating the rest of the meal!
If we look at this on a national scale, it is estimated that consumers are paying $2 billion dollars a year for the salt water that is injected into chickens. Now the tag line “Where Value Grows” makes sense!
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Comments
from 91 people
Thanks for listing the " Broth" ingredients.
Took a minute to find you but it saved me from having a Lung problem i get from having sugar...thanks so much .
Gary
Last week my husband bought some Heritage Farm chicken bone-in chicken thighs from Kroger because they were on sale. He baked them slowly in his cast iron skillet in the oven, which is how he cooks the Gerber Amish chicken he usually buys at Kroger. The Heritage Farm thighs were disgusting. This is one of my favorite meals, and after one bite I knew something was wrong with the chicken. It was mushy. One look at the label explained it. The thighs were injected with a solution containing carrageenan. He didn't realize it, because he doesn't wear his reading glasses when he grocery shops. Never again. Ever. Ever. The pork too is all injected with a solution. We will only buy the Gerber chicken in the future, and find another store that sells plain uninjected pork.
KarenKV
I bought these chicken breast for the first (and last) time today. I roasted them in the oven for the appropriate amount of time but when we cut into them water actually poured out of them. The meat tasted more like it was steamed or boiled and was not something we wanted to continue to eat. My fault I guess for trying to save some money and I actually wasted the money!
Jude
I purchased 1 package of Heritage chicken. It was too salty for us. I won't be buying again.
CiCi
I've had a bit different of an experience. I opened the package and was overwhelmed with the smell of chlorine. I washed and washed it and no luck. I am SUPER disgusted.
Jessica
Ever since Dillons started their new low price of $1.99/lb on chicken breast, every time I cook it, no oil no breading I have to pour off at least 1/4 of water, or whatever the liquid is that's coming out of the chicken breast
L scott
I buy Heritage Farm chicken to make food for the dogs and cats. I buy only the whole chicken when it is on sale; the last one I bought was stuffed with 3 necks to increase the weight, not to mention the water that it has been injected with.
In the past I bought the packaged thighs but by the time you trim the fat and squeeze out the water in the packing you lose 1 or 2 pounds. Not saving any money.
Ranch wife
People seem to say this particular brand 'cooks tough'...but I have had nothing but great success with them. If I buy the bird two days before the expo date, then I can get a 6 lbs bird for 5 dollars and just roast it the same day. Its not the bird itself but the cooking methods employed.
Another thing of note is that as a professional chef of 20 years it is very common to see chefs go pick out a 3.5 lbs organic farm bird for 18 or more bucks....bring it to the shop and prep it, then inject it with either....low and behold....salted water, chicken broth, or several other flavoring additives. Salt and water are both natural items and injection is all the rage these days for whatever reason (I just use a good salt/pepper dusting and mine always come out awesome).
Adding salt and water does NOT make the bird less natural (thought the farming methods might) though it does add weight. Like I said though just wait until a few days before expo date and the price will drop anyway.
Jay
I saw this for the first time this weekend. The chicken broth wording sent off an additional alert for me. Most broths contain gluten which I can't have. The butcher couldn't even tell me if their "broth" was gluten free. I'll stick to the organic chicken.
wendy
Does anyone know if springer farms chicken has carageenan in it?
Kelly
Bought a whole Heritage chicken from Kroger. When I opened the package, the meat looked like it had big bruises on it. I had to check to see if it is okay to eat and found that the chicken had probably been handled very roughly. The meat did not taste good and we couldn't eat it.
Jan
Chickens are NOT fed any Hormones in any part of USA or any other country. Please study the issue before panicking. (The cattle possibly may be injected with Growth Hormones). Label stating hormone-free chicken is design to attract uninformed simpletons.
Alex
It is the worse chicken I have ever tasted. To describe it as oily rubber tires would be too kind. I avoid all Kroger brands and did not know they grew these. I wonder if I can return them????
Thomas Tannler
I purchased a whole Heritage Farms roaster chicken. After cooking I sliced the breast and I hit a cavity that was filled with this opaque slime in both breasts. Soooo gross. Will not buy again.
Lisa
Hi -- Looking into the Kroger "Heritage" brand, I came across a Canadian brand, also called Heritage Farms. The CA brand promotes its chicken as hormone free, cage free, 100% vegetable fed, etc. I'll have to try it for flavor, of course, but it's speaking my language! http://www.heritagefarmschicken.ca/heritage-farms-products/
Clarice
If anyone is looking for ACTUAL Heritage breed products, check out our Breeders and Products Directory to locate small farms around the U.S. that sell them. https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/directory
The Livestock Conservancy
I'm at a point where I have discarded Kroger as my grocery store even though they are conveniently in my neighborhood, basically around the corner. But too many of their products are suspect, and I had it when I had to throw out our Sunday Dinner. Enter Heritage Farm chicken breasts which swam in liquid while they roasted in the oven. Several times I had to take out the pan to discard the water the chicken breasts exhuded. When they were done, the taste was horribly bland, so we smothered them in BBQ sauce, but the gummy, puffy texture of the chicken meat was so repugnant that we threw them out. I can't believe how horrible this chicken is. It taste unnatural. The texture of the chicken even more so.
Gina Ramirez
so my mom and i bought hamburger patties for a party we had. it just tasted weird. then i read the label beef mix with soy and qujte a few other things i never seen in hamburger patties. the tast was awful.
we also bought chicken from them. it had thick waxy texture. we cooked it still had it and when we ate it. it tasted like i was eating soild far
Christopher
This is *the* worst chicken I've ever purchased. Tough when cooked, completely flavorless (seriously, it doesn't even taste like chicken) and the tenderloins - every single one of them in every single package - has a very tough, rubbery piece of cartilage running the entire length of the tenderloin on the inside (you can see the white end of it sticking out from each piece) and I literally destroyed a whole package of tenders just trying to separate the chicken from this piece of cartilage.
Will never buy this brand of chicken again.
Linda Evans
Needed to do some last minute shopping. Picked up a pkg of Heritage Farm chicken breasts from Kroger. My wife is watching her portion size so we are in the habit of weighing portions. The pkg labeling was 5.09 lbs. The actual weight of the content was 3.95 lbs. That's an egregious error in overpricing and a major credibility issue with Kroger. I'm done.
KV
ALSO I forgot to mention that the packaging on this chicken is purposely deceptive.
The tan and green color scheme is often used with more "natural" or less processed foods and suggests that this product is "natural".
It is anything but natural. Injected chicken? "natural flavoring???
If you weren't selling sick garbage chickens why would you need to enhance the flavor at all.
Dani
I live in Northeast GA, and with a simple search I would like to point out that there are TWO Heritage brands. One is a GOOD, ethically grown and produced Georgia brand and the second is whatever this garbage Kroger brand is.
Kroger had a sale where it was 77 cents a lb so we bought a big thing of chicken legs. I have never in my life actually seen a feather left in the skin of chicken I had bought, but thanks to KROGER HERITAGE, I now know what that looks like. The chicken was stringy and since I usually eat non hormone/non antibiotic fed chicken, I could definitely tell the difference. We could not finish our food and the rest went in the trash.
Have any of you ever seen a chicken truck with the sickly, patches of feathers missing looking chickens? They are filthy. I guarantee this is one of those chickens that KROGER HERITAGE sells. We could not finish eating it because we couldn't stop thinking about how we were eating whatever filth was left on the feathers.
GROSS. GROSS GROSS.
Dani
I purchased a Heritage Farm whole chicken Thursday. It was 59 cents/#, so I decided to slow cook if for my cats. It only took about 3hrs and there was a lot of broth. I go for broth to make chicken and; dumplings, noodles, soup, I took out the bones and cut up the not so popular parts for my cats, they ate it fine and they are picky eaters! I ate pieces as I deboned and cut up. I didn't notice anything different and I fix crock pot whole chickens, organic once a month. Made bone broth and was thinking of buying several more, for that price!
Storm
I won't purchase meat OR poultry at Kroger. Period. Their pork is also injected and an unnatural texture, their beef steaks are just not good, and you don't want me to get started on their chicken. Injected, dirty, tough. And purchased from factory farms.
I live in a smaller town that essentially has only easy access to a Kroger's, now that they've driven off all the good markets. I drive way out of my way to go to small family markets with really good, wholesome meats. And if you watch the sales and factor in the quality, I feel I'm getting a much healthier and flavorful product.
Yes, some of Kroger's prices are very reasonable, and they have increased their organic products, but their meat is awful.
Fran
I bought a whole Heritage Farms chicken for the crock pot last night because Smith's (kroger) didn't have bone-in breasts available. It was partially frozen (they all were) so I has to run it under hot water first. When it was done, it still fell apart like a crock pot chicken should, but the texture was really weird and spongy, and there was a jelly-like substance all through the stringy breast meat. I'll never buy that chicken again.
Powder Hound
Heritege farms is the worst chicken I have ever eaten. Tuff even after tenderizing. Had a lot of fat on boneless skinless breast. Will never buy this brand again. Kroger should not be selling such a product.
Lakemaster55
My daughter is allergic to carrageenan. We discovered this by her respirtatory reaction to icecream and then other dairy things containing it...long before it started appearing in meats!
Shonda
Kroger is the new Walmart.
Mike
I like to purchase my chicken from local farms. Check out EatWild.org and look for your state and city to find a resource. I also like my local co-op to purchase my meats and poultry. Angela
Angela
So what brand of Chicken do you all like?
Sandie
Google Search "blood and blood derived products for the food industry". Look for a schoarly paper in pdf format. I like to eat non reconstructed meat. Reconstructed or even fortified by blood. Watch out for boneless meat and less or low sodium meat products.
John
For those with the alpha-gal allergy (tick induced mammalian meat allergy) who often use chicken for protein, should know that carrageenan can also initiate alpha-gal allergic reaction. Therefore, beware of chicken injected with ANY solution.
http://www.cornucopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CarageenanReport-2016.pdf
Christa
Was in our local Kroger the other day, they were taking the packs of "Herritage Farms" chicken out of cardboard boxes labeled..... Tyson. So there ya go.
CW
Update and observation #3. Was at Kroger the other day and noticed that the injected pork meat was not showing sodium phosphate on the label and the solution amount was at 7%, instead of 12 to 15%. Maybe we're getting some results?
Jon Mac
Kroger does have the near monopoly in many neighborhoods. When I lived in San Antonio, a small local chain, HEB, had out competed them. There wasn't a single Kroger in that city. HEB's prices were lower, selection greater, and overall quality as good or better. I'm don't know how they managed to overcome the competition from a national company.
Careful Shopper
So I purchased a package of Heritage brand drumsticks yesterday, was in a hurry. When I got home and went to prepare the chicken, I noticed the "15% injected chicken broth, as well as carrageenan ", which was a huge red flag! I thought, I'm paying $1.49/lb for chicken broth!? The second red flag was the enormous size of the drumsticks, have never seen chicken drumsticks this size before. The third red flag was that three of the twelve drumstick bones were broken with bone fragments protruding the skin! Ok, so I prepared and baked the chicken anyway. The cooked chicken was absolutely "sick"! It was way saltier than normal and had tendon-like texture, almost inedible, in every piece! I normally buy free-range, non-hormone, locally grown chicken...and now I know why! I am appalled at Kroeger brand for stooping to this level and portraying themselves as proud of their chicken! I will NEVER buy Heritage brand chicken again!!!
Home chef
I wish they would not inject a thing into a chicken. I wish they were like chickens were a thousand years ago. I can't stand any of these added ingredients. Chicken meat irritates my stomach now. Why can't these companies just sell us real pure food?
John Simms
Just to help you all out - Carageenan is a gum, derived from seaweed. While it probably doesn't have a place in chicken, it's not toxic to human intestines or any of the other incorrect descriptions I have read on this post. Essentially, as a gum, it's fibre. In this case, the fibre of seaweed. In this context, it is used to a. create a fatty mouthfeel (so that the selectively bred, low fat chicken breasts the market demands still taste like chicken, rather than dry crackers) and b. to bind/retain the moisture of the broth in the meat, so that when it is cooked and eaten, the chicken remains juicy and not dry. Now. I'm not advocating the use of broths or gums in raw meat products, however, you have to remember the market demands moist, tasty, low fat chicken and the industry demands profit. The only way to produce tasty chicken cheaply, is to fill it with crap. On a scale of things that could be added to your chicken, Carageenan is pretty low on the list of evil additives. In fact, fibre is good for your digestive system. Salt, on the other hand, is not so good. The carageenan, as a binder, allows the manufacturer to use less salt than if it wasn't in there (salt also helps the moisture to remain in the meat, so more careageenan = less salt).
Science based logic
Worst Quality pork and chicken ever . Kroger is going all case ready red meat also . Just like wal mart .
Steve
I'm so glad I found this Web site I started or so I thought! Feeding my family healthier a few months ago so I started purchasing hertiage farms brands thinking I was feeding my family a safer meat. Thanks to Krogersee deception I was not.
Cheryl
There is an actual "Heritage Farm" - I found it online and they are quick to try to distinguish themselves from the Kroger brand. I feel sorry for them.
Angela
I am in Vancouver , Canada and just bought an Heritage Farm chicken. Says it Canadian and doesn't list any other ingredients. Could this be a different compan.?
Pat
I bought a pkg. your skinless, boneless Thighs and what a disappointment - full of FAT. I don't know who is cutting them up but YUCK. Next time I will spent more and buy Foster Farms - least I won't be buying a bunch of PIECES.......................
Carol Williams
I would shop at co-ops and whole food stores and speak to the butcher. Or, look for a farm in your area and purchase directly from them through a CSA. Look at www.EatWild.org (try .org and .com) and then look up your state for suggestions.
Angela
Angela
Does anyone have a brand suggestion to avoid this problem? If I missed it in the comments, my apologies.
Bethany L.
AFTER PURCHASING A LARGE FAMILY PACK OF THIS HERITAGE FARM KROGER CHICKEN LEGS AND THEN OPENING UP THE PACKAGE AND COOKING THE LEGS ALL OF THE WERE BROKEN IN HALF, THE BONES COULD NOT HAUL THE MEET, SO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THAT CHICKEN HOUSE?? I AM VERY MAD AND WILL COMPLAIN.
LES
Trader Joes is just as bad...THeir Certified Organic Chicken breasts are HUGH - only at Whole Foods do I trust the chicken - I don't see how they all get away with labeling like they do...
sarah
I purchased a Heritage Farm whole chicken last week at my local Kroger, and was extremely dissappointed! 1/2" tail pin feathers to pick off, a 2" feather to pick out on the wing, plus atleast 6-7 more feathers on the wings. Granted once cooked the chicken tasted OK (thanks to the seasoning I used). As far as cleanliness of the bird, no thanks. I will not be purchasing this brand again.
Reba K.
All Kroger stores have a band saw in their meat department. They still cut their red meat like a butcher would. It's just not right behind the counter where you would see it. It's behind the doors in a large refrigerated room.
Kroger
Hate this. Just wanted to see things from your farm not a dumb stupid model talking shut. I bought you chicken tasted like shit! Very fatty. I was ready to give it a chance but you got a stupid display with a dumb model. You will not.... get my business. I will tell all that your chicken tasted like poop. Too bad I couldn't talk to a real person. .Good luck dummies.
Nancy rockensuess
Update and observations #3: Kroger's Heritage Farm ultra-dead chicken now has carragheen added to the 15% chix broth and salt. Carragheen (or Irish moss or seaweed) is used in the food industry as a stabilizer of proteins. Talk about gettin' gourmet. Whew!
It's kinda like buying vegetarian eggs or pork. Chickens are not vegan in their eating habits, and will peck other hens to death when there isn't any meat (insects and worms) in their diet. Is this cause of egg prices sky-rocketing? Anyhow, vegan is so-oh snobby. But, that's a whole different topic......?
Kroger's chicken and pork has a definite chemical after-taste, which is not good. White globs of 'what?’ appear when, I sauté chicken, or pork. I ate a glob and it was a no-reward glucky experience. Also, making pan gravy is now a 'thing' of the past. Are we being “krogerised”
They have ONE meat processing plant in the USA and none of the Kroger stores that I frequent has a band saw for cutting meat.
Rule #1 Look for a band saw in a stores' meat dept., if there isn't one! Shop else- where!!
Rule #2: This what happens when you are Number UNO as the biggest grocery store, but definitely not the best in quality or the cheapest.
Well, raising your own chickens and pot-bellied pigs seems a little excessive and messy. Hens scratch and pigs wallow, so goodbye, beautiful green lush lawn. Pigs can be cute, so goodbye pork chops, and herding hens has never, ever been one of my life's goals.
Off topic but interesting. Last week I spied Kroger selling Roquefort cheese at $31.99/pound, When Trader Joe's sells it at $10.99/pound. Wow, dewow, wow-wow.
Jon Mac
Follow up (2): Seems like Kroger has one butcher department for the whole country. Am noticing that the managers 'special' meat section is over populated with discolored pork products and the 'sell by dates' are long into the future. Tip of the day; when looking for another place or store to buy meat or chicken. The meat department should have a band-saw on premises. The supermarket I buy from, also sells hog sausage casings packed in salt and pork back-fat at a reasonable price. You really have to be careful purchasing any thing at Kroger's, as they can be way more expensive.
Jon Mac
Thanks so much for this post. I usually buy organic chicken, but last time I was at King Soopers (Kroger) they didn't have any, and since I was tired and in a hurry I just bought the regular, Heritage Farm kind. I failed to notice the part about the chicken broth, and quite honestly, it never occurred to me that there would be anything but chicken in a whole, raw chicken!
I had an allergic reaction after eating the chicken, and since one of the things that I am deathly allergic to is celery, I'm now wondering if there might be celery in the broth that they inject into it. It's possible that something else caused my reaction - I don't want to falsely accuse them, and I no longer have the package to check the ingredients, but I have learned my lesson, and will be vigilantly reading the labels on all meat products from now on.
Anyhow, I just wanted to put it out there that for severely allergic people like me, these sorts of deceptive practices are very worrisome. I can no longer eat most brands of tuna because it's all now packaged in "broth" most of which also contains celery. My kingdom for real, single-ingredient food!
Cat
i bought chicken leg quarters 5.38 lbs there was 571 grams of packaging and diaper after chicken removed and blood poured off . more than one and a quarter lbs. of packaging.12/3/2015
Richard
Hi Angela,
I purchased a 2.6 lb. package of skinless, boneless thighs, opened the package and noticed flaps of fat that were tucked under the individual thighs. I cut off the fat and found that I purchased 1/4 lb. of fat, approximately 20% of the total chicken. I'm returning the chicken.
Marian
I have always avoided "solution enhanced" meats which is usually what is found with Smithfield and Kroger pork products - they are very salty and the texture is unnatural and gross. Also when they are used in a recipe, the extra salt in the meat interferes with your recipe. I bought chicken breasts today in a family size pack for $8+ and until today have NEVER seen "solution enhanced" chicken and had no idea that is what I was buying. It was awful and made the chicken and rice dish I made terribly salty since all of the saline leached out of the chicken into the rest of the food. Furthermore, the texture was spongy and unnatural. Never again.
Cheryl in Charlottesville
We purchased a Kroger/Heritage Farms whole chicken. It is not competitively priced when 15% solution is added. Fred Meyers/ Kroger is not to be trusted in the meat department. Just another reminder for us to shop elsewhere for meats. Why pay $1.50 for pumped in liquid? a 10 cent brine will do the same and add some value and flavor, all controlled by us, not them.
Gyped By Fred Meyer Agasin
Well, I just roasted one and it was darn good.
Carol Palmer
opened a chicken today. All I can say it was a healthy Heritage Farms Chick, it had like five hearts and even enough gizzards for several chicks. Glad to of found your article.
Taz
Hi Angela,
I'm so glad I found your site while doing some research. I bought heritage farm chicken breast today at my local smiths and noticed something "odd" about the meat. They had spots of red (not natural blood) dots in the breasts. I went with my mommy instincts and intuition to not even cook them and throw them out! I took a picture as I will be asking for a refund. Also I am going to try to contact heritage farms as I believe these chicken could be infected. Thanks for your post. I would the picture here if I could.
Diane
The worst part is they also have (And its on the label clear as day and night) Carrageenan!! on the Heritage farm chickens, Yuck!
Felipe
Have not eaten any flesh for 55 years.
Grasshopper
My suggestion is do not eat meat of any kind. Haven't eaten any of it for 50 years
Grasshopper
I consider the use of the word "heritage" in the brand name deceptive labeling. By the way, carrageenan is on the current label of chicken too.
RWG
I've had the boneless skinless breasts before, and I've smoked the HF whole chickens before. This evening, I bought 3 more chickens to smoke and shred for the 4th of July, and a package of breasts for tonight dinner. I rubbed and grilled the breasts and served them. What the hell is wrong with the texture??? I've never noticed before, but it was extremely tender, too tender. Like a pressed meat product. I googled HF breasts to see if they're using "meat glue" like so many others in the big meat industry.
I won't be buying these breasts again, and I may return the chickens. Then again, they'll be tossed with a lot of sauce, maybe I'll let this be the last time I cook them.
I've had the meat before, and didn't notice this in the past.
Mike Ness
I bought skinless and boneless chicken thighs. They were CRAP. By the time I cut off all the skin, there was hardly any meat left. They were conveniently packaged so you could not see all this. I Will NEVER buy these again. Will instead buy a trusted brand.
judy
So now we know. Kroger's Heritage brand chicken breast triggered my fibromyalgia/arthritis once again. The first time my son said, "But Mom, it's organic!" The soup was delicious but the results of "15 % broth added" have me barely able to move 20 hours later. Only Benadryl & heavy pain meds ease the pain... for awhile.
Unfortunately Krogers aren't the only meat packers who are poisoning
their products for many. My family has named these sodium type additives "evil spirits". When will they be forced to label the ingredients honestly? Some years back a dept. manager assured me that they do not use additives. They may not but too many of the meat packers do.
Beverly Van Sickle
I bought some of yalls bonless skinless chicken and I found a bone in it
k ellis
Hi Damon - THANK YOU! It is EatWild.com I corrected this in the earlier post.
Warmly,
Angela
Angela
Hello, you left a comment to look at EatWild.org ... :-( It comes up as a domain for sale. Not sure if this is temporary but thought I would let you know. :-) Is there another site? Thanks for your info! Cheers
Damon
Hi Mimi,
Thank you - 'no hormones added' is good, but they don't add hormones to chickens, so this is false positive marketing. I would always look for organic and see if you can find a local source for chickens. Check out EatWild.com to seek out a farmer in your area. Otherwise, try to purchase at your local co-op.
Angela
Angela
Angela, great article! What should we look for when purchasing a chicken that states "all nature." The ones in my local grocery stores read all nature and no added hormones.
Mimi
I just opened a package of this Heritage Farms brand's chicken breasts and their packaging technique & their product is extremely misleading.
The package states the chicken is enhanced with up to 15% chicken broth. In this instance the large absorbent pad already contained 15% of the entire package's weight while yet still more fluid leaked out when I opened it.
I paid for 6.73lbs but received only 5lbs 3ozs of 'edible' chicken. They are skimming (in this case 23%) from unknowing consumers.
I was happy to see the Value brand disappear because their bulk chicken quarters used the same technique of containing over 1lb of liquid inside the packaging (and outside the chicken) and including that in the final weight being charged.
The Department of Agriculture and individual state's Department of Weights & Measures need to keep an eye on this business practice.
Is it that hard for these businesses to see why the home-grown/raised food market is gaining popularity? After all, these 'tricks' are the exact reason many are turning to it. By misleading consumers, they are biting the hand that 'feeds' them.
Pete
Hi Nancy,
It is crazy when you think about it - 15% of the price you paid is for the solution!
Angela
Angela
Just bought 2 family packs of boneless/skinless chicken breasts and a whole chicken, all were the Heritage Farm brand, am not sure why I read the ingredients, but saw the "injection of up to 15% chicken broth , and carrageenan, ask the man stocking the case what carrageenan was, he didn't know, but did say he was going to look it up, which is what I have done, its all going back tomorrow .
Thanks for the info !
Nancy Duck
Glad I helped you in time, at the point of sale! I have such a hard time purchasing chicken from my local grocery store. I know too much now!
Angela
Angela
So crazy I'm in the store and just googled this brand. Def fooled me with the packaging. ... now buying my local red bird my or may industry is shameful.
shiq
I thought it was very good, tastes like chicken and beats KFC
Kris
I bought a package of Heritage Farms chicken, and when I read it was 'enhanced with chicken broth' I decided to turn the package over and read the ingredients - something I have never done for a package of raw chicken! I was horrified to read it contained not only chicken broth but also carrageenan, a truly horrible product that is in SO many things. It is toxic to human intestines although it sounds harmless enough. I returned the chicken to the store, and when I explained to the lady that it contained carrageenan, and explained what that is she remarked 'what are they trying to do - kill us all?' Seems that way.
Monty
Heritage Farms Chicken is HORRIBLE!
Twice I have purchased this product, and Twice I have gotten Sick.
Yusef,
It is unacceptable! I have such a hard time walking down the meat and poultry section of mainstream supermarkets. I am on the hunt for heritage chickens and pastured pigs (that aren't raised with GMO soy and corn feed). I can't seem to find them around here, which is unfortunate. Thank you for your comments here!
Angela
Angela
Last week I bought what I thought was a nice roaster for about $7.00. I was assured by the Meat manager this was a good brand.
When I opened the bag, a good pound of fluids rushed out. I cleaned the bird, and laid it on the cutting board. I should have known then there could be a problem, as the bird had a odd white color to it. There was an excess amount of fat with the bird too.
This was the most disgusting chicken I have ever, ever had. The '15% saline" that was pumped in this bird manged to spray all over my oven and burn, forcing me to clean what was clean oven.
Taste - there was no taste. Texture: grainy My dog wouldn't eat it, really.
I tried to savage the chicken and make soup, but with what I had already dealt with, after picking the chicken, and cutting up the vegetables, and adding spices - I just couldn't get the whole experience out of my head - and tossed everything out. I wasted money, 2 days of time (cooking, cleaning oven, and making soup).
This brand is disgusting, and I believe the FDA should look into this product and all their lines.
I am going to write a letter to the local Kroger's & the main office.
This is unacceptable.
Katie D
Follow up: Complaining or talking to store managers about their Heritage Farm chicken plumped with 15% chix broth and pork products with added 12% saline solution will not get anything done. Kroger store managers basically do not have control with what is stocked in Kroger stores. The only areas that they manage are employees, store maintenance and restocking. There are floaters on certain days that ask you questions on products, but tend to loose interest, when they find out it is their key new line that you are talking about. It is a huge step back and down for them. Watch buying vegetables and fruit as they can be more expensive and damaged with the freshness dates questionable. Luckily, the Dallas area is very competitive in the grocery business.
Jon Mac
It is sad! It is really deceiving - plain and simple. I have been on a quest to find 'pastured pig' and each farm I talk to in my area is using soy and corn feed (cannot confirm that this is non-GMO). The good thing is that now you know. I did visit the 'heritage farm' site in my research on this topic and also noted their notice. I am sure that they were appalled that 'heritage farm' was being used to label anything but, in the grocery store.
Warmly,
Angela
Angela
This is very sad to me. I just bought Kroger heritage farm products and the bacon was awesome. Should have done research first. I went to see heritage farm on the internet and we have a heritage farm here in Bowdon ga. I thought awesome I'll go take a tour, when I clicked the contract us button they clearly state they DO NOT sell to grocery stores. I was appalled...
Jessica Douglass
Hi Jon,
I just noticed their bacon product at the store the other day. The package is incredibly misleading! Thank you for your comment!
Angela
Angela
Totally agree on this. Heritage Farms also has bacon, over-brine d, that has never seen the inside of a smoker.
Kroger is also selling pork meat injected with 12% saline solution. Will not buy chicken or pork from Kroger. They also haven't a clue on making bread either.☺☺!
Jon Mac
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