USDA to Issue Proposed Rule on Natural Chicken

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service is planning to issue rules on whether chicken injected with salt, water and other ingredients can be promoted as ‘natural’.

The USDA said the chicken could carry the word ‘natural’ on packaging if it wasn’t flavoured artificially or preserved with chemicals.

The agency, however, agreed to review the policy following complaints that about one-third of chicken sold in the US was injected with additives that could represent up to 15% of the meat’s weight and doubling its sodium content.

Chicken processors such as Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson Foods use ‘natural’ labels for chicken injected with extra salt and water.

According to a study, regulations aimed at cutting Americans’ sodium intake could save $10bn-$24bn in healthcare costs, and thousands of lives, every year.