How is chicken labelled?
A label can reveal a lot about the chicken, including how it was raised and what it was fed. To help you choose and ensure you bring home the best chicken for your next meal, we explain the common terms found in chicken labelling and what they mean.
Bone-in or boneless chicken
These terms refer to whether the meat contains bones or not.
Boneless chicken
Boneless chicken is a more convenient option that’s quicker to cook but generally costs a little more than bone-in chicken. Boneless chicken is better suited to dishes where the chicken is cooked in a sauce, such as curries, stews and soups, where it would be difficult to retrieve the bones before serving and eating.
Bone-in chicken
All chicken has bones whether it’s a whole bird or broken down into pieces. As with most meat, chicken cooked on the bone has more flavour and tends to be juicier but it will take longer to cook fully. You can, of course, buy bone-in chicken and debone it at home but the process can be difficult and time-consuming. It comes down to personal choice and budget.
Fresh chicken vs. processed chicken
These terms refer to whether the chicken has been treated in any way.
Fresh chicken
Fresh chicken is sold whole or in its parts such as breasts, wings, thighs and drumsticks. Raw chicken found at the butcher's counter and pre-packed in the supermarket has simply been cleaned, gutted and portioned but not altered in any way.
Processed chicken
Chicken meat that’s been preserved, cooked, sliced, coated or reshaped (e.g., chicken nuggets) is known as ‘processed chicken’. As a rule, the further away your chicken is from the original raw meat, the more processed and less healthy it becomes.
How to tell good chicken from bad chicken
When you buy chicken from Pak ‘n Save, you can be certain that the meat is safe to eat. That said, it’s helpful to know what to look for when buying from a butcher or other supermarket.
Look at the use-by-date
Always read the labels for the sell by and use-by dates. Select the chicken with the longest date giving you more flexibility.
Sell by date: The sell by date is the last day a retailer can sell the meat. If the chicken is past its sell by date, it doesn’t mean it isn’t safe to eat, just that it is past its peak quality. Often, if the sell by date is close, the chicken will be labelled and the price reduced.
Use by date: The use by date is the last day a retailer recommends consuming the meat.
If you plan to cook the chicken within the use by date stated, then it is safe to purchase, keep in the fridge and cook when you are ready. If not, you should freeze the chicken immediately after purchasing (it is safe to eat frozen meat past its use by date as long as it was frozen before the date).
If you haven’t cooked or frozen the chicken before the use by date, throw it away.
Free-range chicken or non free-range
These terms refer to how the chickens are raised.
Free range chicken
Free-range chickens and those raised on a pasture generally have access to the outdoors and can forage for grass, weeds and bugs for food. Free-range chickens are high quality birds, with more flavour and juiciness, so generally cost more than non-free range chickens.
Standard and cage free chicken
Chickens raised to eat (‘broiler chickens’) which are not labelled free-range are commercially raised indoors, usually in barns or cages. These birds are typically cheaper than free-range chickens, but the meat is often reported to have less flavour and be less juicy, likely due to limited muscle development and a less varied diet.
Organic or non-organic chicken
These terms refer to what the chicken was fed.
Organic chicken
Certified organic chickens are fed organic feed, free from pesticides, chemicals and antibiotics. Producers also follow strict compliance protocols. Organic chickens are the healthiest, most natural choice but cost more than non-organic poultry.
Standard chicken
Non-organic or standard chickens are fed a grain-based diet fortified with protein. They may also be raised with antibiotics to prevent infection in crowded rearing facilities.
How to tell if chicken is fresh
Some chicken may not come prepackaged. In that case, here are our tips for spotting the freshest meat.
Good quality chicken is pink, plump, smooth and odour-free
High quality, fresh raw chicken should have a pinkish hue and there should be no evidence of bruising or damage to the skin. The chicken flesh should feel plump and springy to the touch with a neutral odour.
Bad chicken will be discoloured with a dull greyish hue
Bad chicken will be discoloured with a dull greyish hue and a strong odour indicating it has begun to spoil. The texture of spoiled chicken will feel slimy or sticky to the touch and it may be sitting in a pool of liquid.
Poor quality chicken is dull, grey, smelly and slimy
Chicken with visible signs of cuts or damage to the skin or blood in the flesh can indicate trauma and stress during rearing and is likely to be poor quality. Whilst chicken is lean meat, anything more than a small amount of visible white fat is an indicator of poor quality.
Avoid pooling liquid in the packaging
Avoid chicken with excess liquid pooling in the pack as this can indicate it has been cooled by water immersion. If it’s been sitting too long, the water can be released diluting the chicken flavour and causing a soggy texture.
Is rotisserie chicken healthy?
Yes, rotisserie chicken is a healthy food choice. Chicken is a lean source of protein and cooking it in a rotisserie is a low fat cooking method that produces perfect results every time. Removing the skin can reduce the saturated fat content by over 50% making it an even healthier food option. Rotisserie chicken is ready to eat, full of flavour and can be used to create a variety of healthy, well balanced dishes.