Many of you are chicken eaters but do you know what’s in your chicken? When you go to the grocery store are you confused with what the labels say? I know I’ve been confused with some of the label verbiage. On a recent flight, I caught the Dr. Oz show and on it he discussed chickens and what the labels mean. I found this pretty helpful and insightful.
Dr. Oz decodes 4 popular, sometimes misleading, labels being applied to America’s chicken. Get the facts. Determine what’s necessary from what’s nonsense with Dr. Oz’s label decoder.
Organic – Considered the gold standard of labels, chickens marked organic are grown without antibiotics and while being raised, they must have access to the outdoors. It means they can’t be genetically modified, irradiated or cloned.
Raised Without Antibiotics – Although the USDA has banned the term “antibiotic-free,†the claim that an animal has been “raised without antibiotics†implies that it has not received any antibiotics during the course of its lifetime. Buyers beware: The USDA does not verify these claims. The labels are applied at the discretion of the manufacturer.
Free-Range – While this label conjures pastoral images of chickens happily pecking in green pastures, it only means that the animal has had access to an open area. The USDA allows this label to be placed on any poultry product that has had open-air access for a minimum of 5 minutes per day.
Hormone-Free – The USDA prohibits the use of hormones in raising chickens. This is an established regulation. This isn’t a selling point for a particular brand – it’s a reiteration that the USDA prohibits the use of all hormones in raising poultry.
I found the “Free-Range” definition to be the most alarming. Organic chicken appears to be the healthiest choice and it will likely be the most expensive chicken as well.
