Chicken--most Have Broth Added

[mcalister14]

I'm kind of confused and worried about chicken. Every brand I've checked states on the label that there is 15% chicken broth or solution added to enhance flavor. Is this gluten-free? Even Tyson has this on the label. I figure it's fine but I just wanted to check with you guys. You're always so helpful since I'm still learning.

Stacy

[celiac3270]

Chicken broth can be VERY dangerous. That's why you can't necessarily eat rice at a party or in a cafeteria. If it's made with chicken broth, chances are, the broth contains gluten. There are gluten-free chicken broths, but be very careful about that.

[GEF]

Does turkey apply to this as well?

Gretchen

[mcalister14]

I've noticed this label on turkey also. It usually states it is "added solution/broth to enhance flavor".

What brands are actually safe to eat???

Stacy

[traci]

I am not sure the solution added is broth... um I just read a book about processing in USA and its horrifying... this solution is not a broth.. I wont go into details, cannot recall the name of the book... if I find it, I will tell you if anyone wants to know. The solution is used to cool the carcasses quickly and it is the reason US chicken is so infected with salmonella. In some cases its a brine solution, brine being a salt water that plumps the meat up, we make home made sausages, bacon etc so I can be pretty sure in telling you that.

I read these topics and I feel bad because a lot of people here are city dwellers who can walk into some great store and find gluten-free stuff and I cannot. But then I am a rural person who butchers her own chickens and I know they are not infected with horrible stuff nor are they processed with anything containing gluten, guess it all works out.

Organic, not free range chickens should be gluten free. a chicken labeled free range is just silly, if they let them out onto some dirt patch for an hour a day, they can be labeled free range. Organic chicken is expensive but its minimally processed unlike the others...

[traci]

This is what I was talking about, because of this process, they have to say solution, brine or broth added... Copying and pasting...

Fresh foods like apples, lettuce and meat don't have to have lists of their ingredients on their labels. With meat, there could be more than meat in the package.

By: Michelle Davidson, KY3 News

Most meats naturally contain between 60 and 80 percent water. But there is water in some meat and poultry that gets there unnaturally. The United States Department of Agriculture is trying to crack down on labeling of retained water.

You can see watery liquid -- or purge -- in the bottom of some packages. But the labels don't tell us why it's there. Dale Dothage with Harter House Supermarket gave us the juicy details.

"They will commonly dip the chicken in a vat of solution to help bring down the body temperature of the chicken,

[traci]

Oh yeah one more thing... I keep hitting post reply when I am not done... Self basting turkeys do contain broths and sometimes gluten containing stuff... and they are now doing with with chickens... I think our best bet is to buy cuts of boneless skinless breast. This solution that they soak the chicken in to cool it does not have gluten, just salmonella but a self basting bird or one with "broth added" may very well contain gluten. I dont know why they cannot just leave the dang meat, meat....

[traci]

Ok I am on a mission tonight.. this post got me thinking so I just keep telling ya all what I am finding. I dont know if any of you eat at Mc Donalds.... but heres the ingredients to the grilled chicken... grilled chicken for cripes sake... Those of you who cannot take dairy.... here it is... I NEVER KNEW THE DANG THING HAD ALL THIS DAIRY IN IT... making me mad.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast filets with rib meat containing: up to 12% of a solution of water, seasoning [salt, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, spices, whey, flavor (maltodextrin, natural flavors (vegetable source), dextrose, monosodium glutamate), partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, Romano cheese [Romano cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, calcium chloride], nonfat dry milk, disodium phosphate], parmesan cheese powder [enzyme modified parmesan cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, calcium chloride), nonfat dry milk, disodium phosphate], xanthan gum, cheese flavor [dehydrated cheddar cheese (cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes), maltodextrin, autolyzed yeast extract], extractives citric acid, soybean oil and sodium phosphates.

Here is some more info on processed chicken too, this is the reason I starting raising my own, just cannot stand what they do to this meat... UG This "broth" is a salt solution so it should be safe...

How much is that chicken in the window?

Maybe more than it should be, if you prefer to pay only for meat, not soup.

Thanks to a fairly new poultry industry process called Enhancing, consumers buying chicken today may also be paying for up to 15 percent "broth," a solution of water, salt, and phosphates. Arkansas poultry producer Tyson Foods began offering "enhanced chicken" about a year and a half ago, and is now a major producer. A Tyson spokesman said broth is added to meet consumer demand for birds that cook up plumper and juicier. And while juicier chicken has been the goal of cooks ever since someone first stuck an open beer can up a fryer's hind end, critics claim factory-made enhanced chicken is just a modern day version of the old "thumb on the scale" trick, one that's making the poultry industry up to $2.9 billion a year. While what happens to a chicken shot up with saltwater and phosphates may be something close to rocket science, injecting chicken isn't. Marcy said he injects his turkeys at home on Thanksgiving, and nearly everyone's got their grandmother's old marinated chicken recipe around. So, if you'd rather get your water nearly free from the tap instead of from Tyson and other chicken producers at close to the price per gallon of unleaded, be sure to check that label.

Like I said prior, we make our own sausages, bacon, hot dogs, brats etc etc... the "brine" is the same and it does not contain gluten.. Its just salt and curing phosphates.

Heres one more thing I found, I will try to stop tearing up the board now.... in everything I looked at, this "broth" was not broth at all, its salt and phosphates.... But if you prefer your meat ( all the big super stores used pumped meat, even Beef!) find a butcher shop and stay away from pre packed meat like you find in Super Wal Mart, Super Target, big grocery stores. Find a mom and pops if you can and give them your business, just be sure they process the meat themselves and are not getting it sent in like these big stores do....

[traci]

OK!!! Just one more I promise , heres the info on the labeling...

How can you tell if a package of fresh meat has been injected with a solution?

Check the package label on front. U.S. Department of Agriculture policy says that meat with added liquid must state on that label that it contains a solution and the percentage. The nutrition facts box, usually on the back of a package with added solution, lists the ingredients.

The USDA prohibits adding water to meat; it's considered an adulterant. But if that added water contains any other ingredient, such as salt, it's considered a solution or a broth. That's OK, as long as the package label identifies it.

You may notice another water statement, usually on poultry labels. That's something different. A retained water percentage refers to how much water is absorbed by chickens or turkeys after they're dunked in a chilling tank or sprayed after evisceration as a food safety measure. That labeling rule, which took effect in January, was intended, in part, to encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of retained water by making that information available to consumers.

The retained water labeling rule applies only to single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry. It doesn't apply to meat or poultry with added solutions.

Cox News Service

[tarnalberry]

The interesting thing is that the solution - as empirically determined by people on the board - very rarely does have gluten. You do always want to check, but most poultry that does not contain spices or flavors but does have "broth or solution" does not have gluten. Whether or not you want to deal with the added "broth or solution" is a different question... :-)

[mcalister14]

Wow! I had no earthly idea the process our meat goes through before it gets to the store. It's actually pretty scary. Traci, I am totally envious that you raise your own. That way you know exactly where it came from!

---Just a side note. Traci, I noticed your references to your helpful articles. I was surprised that they were from southwest missouri. That's where I live. Let me know if you are from this area also.

Thank you so much for the info!

Stacy

[lovegrov]

According to the USDA (I called them and so have others) if the "flavor" or "broth" or "flavor enhancement" or "solution" in raw meat has anything that adds nutrition, like wheat or barley, it must be clearly listed. So if the label doesn't list wheat or barley as part of the broth or solution, it's gluten-free.

richard

[mcalister14]

Do the same rules apply for tuna? I just looked on a can and it contains vegetable broth.

Stacy

[tarnalberry]

Tuna is the same, in theory. I've called a couple companies, and they didn't seem sure if their broth would or would not contain wheat, so I just stick with tuna that's only in water. WildOats has a couple brands, as does Whole Foods, and StarKist's tuna fillet version is packed in just plain water.

[hapi2bgf]

I've called Tysons about their frozen chicken and it is gluten-free. The borth that they add is literally boiled chicken water. I had a long chat with them to make sure I was clea. Now I eat the frozen chicken all the time and never have a problem! I can't remember the answer about the fresh chicken, but I am pretty sure it is gluten-free too. Please call them to be sure.

[lovegrov]

Every tuna I've ever checked -- with or without broth -- has been gluten-free. Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee, Kroger -- all gluten-free. In fact, some brands even address it at their web site. The vegetable broth is just that.

Let me say this again -- to determine if a raw chicken, turkey, pork, or beef has wheat in the broth or flavoring, simply read the ingredients. If wheat or barley is there IT MUST BY LAW BE LISTED. You don't have to call the company or guess -- read the ingredients.

Before I knew this I called companies. I never, ever found a raw (not cooked or flavored with a marinade or something like that) chicken, turkey, pork or beef with gluten. Never.

richard

[tarnalberry]

I'm not disagreeing, but the company I called couldn't tell me if they were adding "natural flavors" to their broth (it varied whether they did or not) and where those came from. There's no reason to expect there is gluten in those products, but the answer I got from the company was in no way reassuring.

[lovegrov]

Which company was this? I'm curious because I've always gotten the gluten-free OK from tuna makers.

richard

[tarnalberry]

I _think_ (but don't quite remember) that it was StarKist. Of course, I can't rule out that I got a rather *uninformed* person on the phone :-).

[lovegrov]

Probably an uninformed person. From the Starkist site:

Q. Does StarKist

[tarnalberry]

gotta love those uninformed people in the service department who answer the phones, I guess. she most definitely was not that clear. ;-)

[mcalister14]

Thank you so much for checking into things. I'm so happy with the answers you've told me. I've only been at this for a few months now and I'm still learning every day. There is a lot to keep straight. I've said it before and now I'll say it again...This message board has absolutely been a lifesaver! Thank you everyone!!

Stacy