Added water in raw chicken products

Tuesday 10 February 2004

In November, the Board suggested that industry would be able to provide further evidence that consumers prefer cooked products made from chicken with added water to products made from chicken with no added water.

1. The FDF and the BPC were approached and asked for any information or reports from their membership to support the consumer taste panel information reported previously. None was forthcoming.

2. Two companies trading in wholesale frozen chicken breast have provided sales data. One reported that its best selling product contains between 10 and 15% added water. The other, with larger sales, reported a split of roughly 43/57 between products with less than 15% added water and products with more than 15% added water (maximum 35%); for sales to restaurants the split was roughly 50/50 and for takeaways and fast food outlets 40/60. Sales of frozen chicken breast with less than 5% added water were only around 7% of total sales. Chicken with added water is cheaper than dry chicken and generally speaking the product gets cheaper as added water levels increase.