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Chicken

Chicken has got to be one of the most versatile meats going.  Its’ mild flavour pairs with sweet, salt, citrus and spice.  It can be baked, broiled, sautéed, poached, BBQ’d and sautéed.

Chicken Facts: Broiler chickens, chickens raised for meat, are typically 38-40 days old and 2kg in size.  Hormones and steroid use in chicken is illegal in Canada and has been since the 60’s.  Chickens are grain fed with a mixture typically of 70% corn, wheat or barley and 30% soybean meal or canola meal for protein.  The term free-range refers to chickens that have access to the outdoors to forage but the term is not legally defined.

Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

Chicken is an excellent source of protein with 20g per 2.5oz (75g cooked) serving.  Served without the skin, chicken is very low in fat and saturated fat.

A recent study published in the Dec 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association found that men and women who ate the most red meat had the greatest risk for heart disease compared to those that ate more chicken.  This may be due to the fact that chicken contains less saturated fat than red meat.

Antibiotics in chicken

Chicken farmers of Canada are actively researching ways to reduce antibiotic use with chickens.  To ensure safety there is an On-Farm Food Safety Assurance Program to provide accountability, standardized practices, traceability and disease control.  Recent media coverage of superbugs, antibiotic resistance and antibiotics in foods have left consumers with concerns and questions.

Why Use Antibiotics?  Some farmers will use a small amount of antibiotic in the feed of chickens as a preventative measure.  Others will use it only to treat disease and still others will use both methods.  When antibiotics are only used to treat disease, often a larger dose of antibiotics, more closely related to antibiotics used by humans,  is needed to fight it than would have been necessary to prevent it using antibiotics in the feed.  All antibiotics used require a veterinary prescription and follow strict guidelines by the CFIA.  The antibiotics used in feed for chickens are not the same as those used for humans.

Antibiotics for Growth?  Some antibiotics were misnamed “growth promotants”.  The antibiotics are not falsely stimulating growth, they are not growth hormones. It simply means that by preventing illness the birds will grow normally.  Sick birds don’t grow well.

Antibiotic resistance: Not all antibiotic resistant bacteria are caused by antibiotics used in chicken.  Some bacteria found on chickens are resistant to antibiotics not even used on chicken.

Are Humans at risk? Chicken needs to be properly handled and cooked thoroughly to kill dangerous bacteria.  These same cooking techniques will kill antibiotic resistant bacterial too.

Are consumers eating antibiotics in chicken? No.  Regular testing has revealed that chicken is free of antibiotic residue.  Strict guidelines set out by the CFIA require that all antibiotic use be recorded for each flock and that proper withdrawl periods be met before the flock can be processed.  Any product failing an investigation would not make it to market.

At the Farm: Birds like to live in flocks, they tend to stay close to each other.  Birds raised for meat do not have cages.  Biosecurity is very important at the farm.  Barns are thoroughly cleaned between flocks and left to rest to prevent bacterial cross-contamination of new birds.  In Canada the processors don’t own the farms.  Processors want quality birds that have been raised well.  Processors won’t buy bruised birds with missing limbs.

Buying and Storing

When purchasing a whole chicken make sure it is solid and plump with a rounded breast.  Be sure to check the best before date and smell it to make sure it doesn’t smell off.  The colour of the skin, yellow or white doesn’t impact the nutritional value of the chicken.  Just be sure it doesn’t have spots.  If you are buying it frozen make sure it is frozen solid, without ice deposits or freezer burn.  Avoid packages that have frozen liquid as this could indicate the meat was thawed and refrozen.

Store your chicken in the coldest part of the refrigerator on the bottom shelf on a plate so that no juices drip onto fresh produce.  Keep fresh chicken for no more than 2 days in the fridge, otherwise freeze it for up to 3-6 months in the freezer above your fridge.

Cooking/preparation

Be sure not to cross-contaminate the chicken juices with foods that will not be properly cooked.  Use a chopping board that can be thoroughly washed with hot soapy water or put in the dishwasher.  Be sure to wash your hands too in the same way.

Cooking a chicken in the oven at 400 F will lock in the moisture but leave the outer layer somewhat dry.  If you cook a breast at 350 F for 50 minutes it should be moist throughout.  Use an instant read thermometer to be sure it reaches 165 F.