Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

In a scathing expose of the USDA’s new meat inspection program, the Washington Post quoted a representative from the inspector’s union, who said pig “processing lines [may be} moving too quickly to catch tainted meat.” “Tremendous amounts of fecal matter remain on the carcasses,” he said. “Not small bits, but chunks.”

What about the other white meat? The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine created this infographic to highlight what they consider to be the five worst contaminants in chicken products. In their investigation of retail chicken products in ten U.S. cities, they found fecal contamination in about half the chicken they bought at the store. But with all the focus on what’s in chicken products, we may have lost sight on what may be missing, like actual chicken.

Researchers recently published an “autopsy of chicken nuggets” in the American Journal of Medicine. The purpose was “To determine the contents of chicken nuggets from 2 national food chains.” “Because chicken nuggets are a favorite of children, and the obesity epidemic now extends to them as well, [the researchers] thought knowing a bit more about the content of the contemporary chicken nugget could be important.”

“The nugget from the first restaurant…was composed of approximately 50% skeletal muscle, with the remainder composed primarily of fat, with some blood vessels and nerve present,” along with generous quantities of skin or gut lining and associated supportive tissue. “The nugget from the second restaurant…was composed of approximately 40% skeletal muscle,” with lots of other tissues, including bone.

“I was floored,” said the lead researcher. He “had read what other reports had said is in them and… didn’t believe it.” He “was astonished actually seeing it under the microscope.”

They conclude that actual “(chicken meat) was not the predominate component [of] either nugget.” It was mostly other tissues, concluding, “The term chicken nugget is [really] a misnomer.”

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Images thanks to Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine. Thanks to Ellen Reid for her image-finding expertise, and Jeff Thomas for his Keynote help.