Is Cheap Chicken Fair Fowl . . Or Foul Fare?
WHETHER it’s roasted, pan-fried, grilled or barbecued, chicken is a meal-time favourite. And as supermarkets push down food prices, the chicken becomes ever cheaper.
But where’s the catch? With supermarkets now selling the birds for as little as GBP 1.99, how can the retail giants manage to push prices down and profits up? Are farmers pressurised into producing food that’s less nutritious and tasty, and are we getting value for money?
These are the issues which Channel 4′s Dispatches will try and find answers to, as it investigates how supermarkets have affected the food on our plates and whether that on the shelves is as good as it looks, prices are as great as they seem and why chickens nowadays have more fat and less protein.
It certainly seems to be the case that it’s no longer a sure- fire healthy option. According to recent research by the London Metropolitan University, meat from cheap supermarket chicken contains as much fat as a Big Mac thanks to intensive farming techniques.
Professor Michael Crawford, director of the human nutrition unit at LMU, says: “If you go back to the 1940s, it shows more protein calories in the chicken than fat. But what has happened since is that intensive feeding methods, and the fact that chickens don’t get any exercise, means they put on a huge quantity of fat.
“There are now more calories from fat in the average chicken than from protein. And the fat is impossible to avoid because much of it is under the skin and soaks into the meat during cooking.”
So just how healthy are the chickens on Edinburgh’s supermarket shelves?
We bought a basic and luxury chicken from six retailers – Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison and Tesco – and sent them to Queen Margaret University College’s Food Industry Foundation’s David Miskin, who checked out each for quality, rearing and excess fat.
He says quality and taste is all in the rearing process, but with supermarket demand at an all-time high, chicken rearing now takes as little as five weeks. This impacts upon taste and quality.
David says: “These are super-fast growing chickens, and the problem is their skeletons aren’t growing as fast. They’re grown quickly and don’t exercise a great deal. The result is a young, fatty bird – essentially a super baby.”
The baby fat means, although the meat will be succulent, it won’t have had time to develop any taste. Plus, to maximise profits, chickens are often crammed into small spaces, where hock burns – marks on the skin caused by sitting in one place too long – can develop.
David says: “If you don’t have a happy bird, you’ll lose money. If you want a decent return, you look after the birds. Rearing is an ethical issue for consumers, and the answer is a free range bird, as they can run about. On the whole, free range chickens are reared slower, so they’re older and it improves the flavour.”
THERE’S also the issue of where you shop. For instance, the chickens bought from the Co-op and M&S were from the same farm, yet quality varied.
“Those stores with more purchasing power can request the best birds and grind down prices. Smaller supermarkets are left with the rest,” says David.
But can consumers trust the nutritional information on the label? David believes the values can be misleading, as they will state an average of fat and protein, and not every bird will be the same. Skin thickness is the best way to measure how fat a bird will be: thin is good, thick is bad.
Taste is also important, so Andy McGregor, head chef and proprietor of Blonde restaurant, cooked each chicken that David analysed, extracted the fillets and pan-fried them before sampling. You can read their comments on the right.
The supermarkets, though, are bullish. After hearing our findings a spokesman for Asda says: “This shows that whatever your budget, we are committed to providing a quality chicken that appeals to the tastebuds and the pocket.”
Sainsbury’s spokeswoman Parveen Johal says our research shows that the supermarket is committed to quality rearing methods. “Sainsbury’s has a long-standing commitment to animal welfare. Our customers have the right to be completely confident that animals reared for meat, fish or eggs sold in our stores have been well treated.”
A spokesman for Morrisons says: “All Morrisons chickens adhere to the assured chicken production industry initiative, which addresses all important issues concerning the production of chickens, including animal welfare, nutrition and producer compliance. Our free range chickens are all extremely well priced and, because they are free range, there are natural variations depending upon natural behaviour such as exercise and eating habits.”
And a spokesman for Tesco adds: “At Tesco, we are proud to offer our customers choice. We offer a range of good quality chicken all meeting approved quality and welfare standards. The range on offer caters both for the more price conscious customer as well as for those who wish to by organic or free range product.”
No-one from the Co-op or M&S was available for comment.
Dispatches, C4, tonight at 9pm
CO-OP
Class A (origin – UK 5011 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.2kg, GBP 2.41 per kg. Price: GBP 2.89. No nutritional values on label.
Staff at Scotmid, Tollcross, said they only stock one type of chicken. David reckons the thick-skinned bird was too fatty. The skeleton was soft with cartilage, signifying the chicken hadn’t fully formed. This can rob the meat of taste. The left wing was decidedly red. David says: “It looks as if this big bruise was done when it was alive. For me, this would have failed quality checks.” Value for money? “You’re throwing away 30 per cent in the skeleton, and what’s left is fatty.” Andy isn’t impressed either.
1/10
TESCO Luxury: Free range whole chicken, class A (origin – UK 2037 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.7kg, GBP 3.70 per kg. Price: GBP 6.29. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 17.7g, protein 17.6g, calories 230.
“There’s a lot of fat in this free range,” says David. “It’s quite soft and young actually, and just looking at it you wouldn’t see much of an advantage in choosing the expensive chicken.”
So, why the extra cost? “Well, if you want chicken that’s been running around, it’s going to cost you.” Andy says: “Not impressed with that one – not much flavour. It has texture though.”
5/10
MORRISONS Luxury: Fresh Devonshire Red free range chicken, class A (origin – UK 8005 EC), without giblets. Weight 1.361 kg, GBP 3.29 per kg. Price: GBP 4.48. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 12.3g, protein 23.6g, calories 205.
“There’s a lot of loose skin so there’s a lot of fat,” says David. “It’s surprising how much fat there is.” An internal inspection reveals nothing untoward, as does the external inspection, inferring rearing was good. But with so much fat on this bird, it’s questionable whether it’s value for money.Andy thinks it is. “Oh, that’s quite nice,” he enthuses as it’s sampled. “It has taste and texture.”
4/10
MORRISONS Basic: Size 1 small Scottish chicken, class A (origin – UK 1100 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.206kg, GBP 2.15 per kg. Price: GBP 2.59. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 13.8g, protein 19.1g, calories, 201.
The chicken is soft and there’s a large wedge of fat. “It’s a small bird, so it’s probably the most fat we’ve seen,” says David. The origin number reveals it’s from the same farm as both Sainsbury’s and Asda’s basic chicken. This bird has been reared well and is pleasing to the eye. But the taste test let it down. “It has texture,” says Andy, “but not much taste.”
3/10
SAINSBURY’S Basic: Large chicken, class A (origin – UK 1100 EEC), without giblets. Weight 2kg, GBP 2.20 per kg. Price: GBP 4.39. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 12.5g, protein 26.3g, calories 218.
“There’s a lot of fat here,” says David. “But there are no marks. If you’re looking for a good basic chicken, this is it.” Further analysis reveals this bird has been reared for longer, so David predicts the chicken will be more flavoursome. “At GBP 4.39, it’s a good price,” he says. But when chef Andy does the taste test on the fillet, he is less impressed. “Very tasteless,” he admits. “Not impressed.”
5/10
MARKS & SPENCER Basic: Oakham small chicken, class A (origin – UK 5011 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.195 kg, GBP 3.09 per kg. Price: GBP 3.69. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 6.1g, protein 20.1g, calories 140.
The label says: “We select them because they grow more slowly, making them wonderfully succulent and full of flavour.” David isn’t so sure. “It’s very soft, so it’s young. Although the meat will be tender, I doubt whether there’ll be much taste.”
Rearing gets top marks, but its flavour doesn’t, says Andy. “It’s quite tasteless actually. It might be a poor value-for-money one.”
5/10
MARKS & SPENCER Luxury: Organic British chicken, class A (origin – UK7161 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.560kg, GBP 5.99 per kg. Price: GBP 9.34. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 13.8g, protein 19.5g, calories 200.
David’s impressed. “Very firm, not much fat (on skin and in fat pack) and it doesn’t fall apart when you take thestring off. The skin is thin, the skeleton strong.” No hock burns, so the rearing conditions were good. “It’s a good chicken,” he concurs. Value for money? “If you have the money, it’s a good choice.” Andy agrees. “Nice flavour and texture.”
8/10
ASDA Basic: Smartprice British whole chicken, class A (origin- UK 1100 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.368kg, GBP 1.54 per kg. Price: GBP 2.11. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 13g, protein 26g, calories 221
The small bird was average in appearance and had no poor rearing marks, however its fatty skin and fat pack let it down. “It’s on the fatty side,” admits David. But at GBP 1.54 per kg, you’d imagine you can’t really complain. The chef can. “It has quite a nice texture, but it doesn’t really have any taste,” admits Andy. It seems as if David’s point on small bird, less taste is reinforced.
4/10
TESCO Basic: Whole chicken, class A (origin – UK 1122 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.138kg, GBP 2.14 per kg. Price: GBP 2.44. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 17.7g, protein 17.6g, calories 230.
The softness of the skeleton infers a young chicken so, although succulence may be high, taste could suffer. “It’s pretty average for fat, though,” says David. Taste certainly has suffered. “That tastes of nothing at all,” says Andy. “Rubbish.”
2/10
ASDA Luxury: Organic whole chicken, class A (origin – UK 5450 N), without giblets. Weight 1.105 kg, GBP 4.24 per kg. Price: GBP 4.69. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 18g, protein 18g, calories 234.
The appearance looks first class. David adds: “This is very yellow, so I’d reckon it’s been corn fed. It will add to the taste. The skin is thin. A good chicken.” Andy agrees. “It’s quite nice,” he says, impressed. “Tasty and succulent.”
9/10
SAINSBURY’S Luxury: Taste the Difference fresh West Country free range whole chicken, class A (origin – UK 8005 EEC), without giblets. Weight 1.438 kg, GBP 4.29 per kg. Price: GBP 6.17. Label nutritional values per 100g: fat 12.3g, protein 23.6g, calories 205.
David says: “There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of difference to the one from the basic range. Taste will be the key thing here.” And it is. Andy is impressed. He says: “Much better (than the basic ) – it tastes like a chicken, basically.”
7/10