| If you buy Tyson meats or buy
your meats at Super Wal-Mart you may be paying for water and extra
sodium along with the meat. When I asked an employee behind the meat
counter at Wal-Mart what the label meant when it said "Enhanced
with up to a 15 percent solution", he said he really didn't know
what was in it; just that representatives from Tyson come in every
week and "spray down the meat". That
fresh beef, pork or chicken you buy at the meat counter isn't always
just what it seems. Some fresh meat (including pork and some
poultry) is "enhanced," as it's called, with a solution of water,
salt, sodium phosphate and sometimes other ingredients injected or
otherwise added during processing for moistness and flavor.
Under federal rules the package front must
declare the addition. The label might say, "Enhanced with up to 15
percent solution" - that is, 15 percent of this product's weight
comes from the added liquid. But sometimes the print is so small you
might not notice it.
Recently I sent an email to Tyson
asking them about why no information on their "enhanced
solution" was available on their
website.
Here is the reply I received:
"Thank you for your
response. You are correct we do not distinguish
between the fresh all natural and enhanced product.
However the ingredients statement does reflect what
is in the solution. The nutritional panel also
contains the amount of sodium. I think you comments
are very important and I will certainly be happy to
report your suggestion that the information be
available on the website to the Marketing
Department. Thank you again for your comments and
for your interest in our products!"
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If you buy enhanced fresh chicken, you'll get increased moistness
and saltier flavor, but you'll also pay for the added water and
consume more sodium. Following is an example of the impact on cost
and sodium content when the added solution of water, salt and sodium
phosphate amounts to 15 percent of the product's total weight - a
percentage not usually exceeded.
-
COST: At
that 15 percent level, the solution would account for $1.36 of
the total $9.08 for a 3.04-lb. package of boneless, skinless
chicken thighs seen in a local store a few days ago.
-
SODIUM:
Sodium in that same package totaled 590 milligrams per 112-gram
thigh fillet, nearly all of it added because chicken naturally
contains a small amount of sodium.
That's almost one-quarter the daily intake limit of 2,400
milligrams - equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of salt - that the
American Heart Association recommends for healthy adults.
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