A perfectly cooked chicken has often been the go-to, healthy dinner option for those looking to achieve their healthy eating goals.
But a US-based animal activist group is now urging consumers to double check their chook meat for white stripes running parallel to the pink muscle.
The lines are indicative of a muscle disorder, known as ‘white striping‘, and it can seriously impact the nutritional value of your chicken breast.
A 2013 Italian study found that fillets with severe white striping can have up to 224 per cent more fat compared to your regular fillets.
The same study concluded that, as the fat content increased, the amount of protein decreased.
A) Normal chicken breast B) Mild white striping C) Severe white striping
Despite the potentially deceiving change in nutritional value, a spokesman for the US National Chicken Council (NCC) assured CNBC that white striping “does not create any health or food safety concerns for people.”
For us home-cooks, white striping also “negatively impacts meat quality”, a 2016 US study found. It can cause the meat to dry out more quickly, prevent it from absorbing your marinades, and is generally less flavoursome.
But perhaps even more concerning is that the same research found severe white striping affected 96 per cent of the 285 tested birds.
So why the recent trend in fatter chooks?
It all comes down to supply and demand. As we turn away from red meats, farmers are under pressure to breed bigger and better birds more quickly.
These meat chickens, also known as broilers, have been selectively bred over time for their quick growth rate.
According to the American NCC, the average chicken in 2015 weighed in at almost 3kgs after 47 days, compared to 1.3kgs after 70 days back in 1950.
The Australian Chicken Meat Federation reports similar figures but have reassured chicken-lovers that most Aussie chooks are not prone to white striping and when it is seen, it’s often in a mild form.
Guess that means we can happily tuck into our favourite healthy chicken recipes again!
