poultry

What is Poultry?

• Domesticated birds that are raised for meat
• Chickens are the most popular
• Poultry is especially useful because meats and eggs are consumed

Classification of Poultry

• Most US consumers prefer breast meat
• Generations of genetic selection lead to the creation of broad breasted turkey varieties that have rapid growth rates and high feed efficiency

Composition of Poultry

• Muscular Makeup
• Muscle tissue has bundled fibers
• Connective tissue (refer to Meat Page)
• Adipose tissue (refer to Meat Page)
• Poultry Skin
• Despite claims made by many chicken producers, skin color isn't reflective of quality, but rather it is reflective of the amount of xanthophyll and carotene plant pigments in the bird's diet
• Breast meat in chicken and turkey is whiter than the thigh or drumstick because the amounts of the red pigment known as myoglobin is found in muscles that are used frequently.
• Different birds have different percentage of red fibers, leading to a different taste, color, and texture.
• Duck meat has a higher percent of red fibers than chicken, leading to a reddish meat.

Inspection

• Wholesome Poultry Products Act (1968)
• Checked for wholesomeness
• Poultry shipped across the state lines must be inspected
• Poultry sold within states must meet similar regulations but these vary from state to state

Grading Poultry

Purchasing Poultry

• Types:
• Fresh
• Frozen
• Cooked
• Canned
• Style:
• Ready-to-cook
• Eviscerated (removal of internal organs)
• Free of blood, feathers, head, and feet
• Convenience Categories
• Breasts, drumsticks, thighs, and wings
• Ground

Additives

• Nitrates can be converted to nitrites by bacteria in the saliva
• Reasons nitrates are added to meat are
• To cure or preserve the meat
• To add flavor and color the meat (pink)
• To inhibit bacterial contamination

Mechanically Separated Poultry

• According to the USDA
• A paste-like and batter-like poultry product is produced by forcing bones with attached edible tissue through a sieve or similar machine with high pressure to separate bone from edible tissue
• Must be labeled as mechanically separated in order to use
• If you've ever seen the pictures and videos of the nasty pink slime that is used for some poultry products, that is the mechanically separated poultry.

Poultry Facts

• Hormones are not allowed and have been banned since 1950s for poultry
• Antibiotics have a withdrawal period so there are no antibiotics before slaughter
• Required labeling:
• Basted or self basted
• Mechanically separated
• Optional labeling:
• Free range or free roaming
• Fresh poultry
• Natural
• No antibiotics
• Labeling that is not allowed:
• Chemical free
• No hormones (because it was banned by the government already)
• Dark meat has more fat and calories than white meat
• This is because of the protein called myoglobin, that stores oxygen in muscle cells, giving the meat a darker color
• Since the energy system of turkeys and chickens can use fat for fuel for walking, more fat is stored in the legs and thighs
• Dark meat has more saturated fat and calories than white meat because of the higher fat content
• Dark meat also contains more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin B-12 than white meat

Poultry Safety

• Handle and store carefully to prevent bacterial contamination
• Campylobacter Jejuni & Salmonella are both transmitted via raw and undercooked poultry
• National survey says that 36% of broilers test positive for salmonella after processing
• 1/4 of all chickens carry campylobacter jejuni
• Safety Tips
• Thawing frozen poultry is best done in a refrigerator
• Stuffing must be prepared and cooked separately.
• Doneness
• Internal temperature must reach 165F
• Breast cooks faster than leg and thigh
• Color changes, showing a golden brown skin and clear juices
• The white meat has a firmer flesh than dark meat and drumsticks move easily at the joint