| Water in Fat-free Substance. Percent. | Water. Percent. | Fat. Percent. | Protein. Percent. | Meat Bases. Percent. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White meat, | 61.38 | 75.08 | 18.25 | 17.06 | .37 |
| Dark meat, | 59.48 | 78.44 | 24.16 | 15.94 | 1.03 |
The above data show that there is a notable difference in the composition of the white and the dark meat. The white meat has much less fat and a correspondingly larger quantity of protein. The quantity of water in the two classes of meat is not very different although there is a slightly less quantity in the dark meat. The dark meat has a much larger proportion of meat bases but as these bases are often considered of little value and sometimes degenerate into poisonous constituents it is seen from this point of view that the white meat is to be preferred to the dark meat.
Preserved Chicken.
—Practically the only methods of preserving chickens are the canning processes which have already been described and cold storage. Chickens may be canned in the same way as has been described for beef and in that way may be kept for a certain length of time without notable deterioration. The pickling of chicken is not very extensively practiced nor is it cured in the ordinary sense of the word, that is, by the addition of salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, and wood smoke. Chicken may also be put up in the form of potted chicken, which has already been described. Practically the only methods which are in vogue and which can be commended for preserving chicken are sterilizing or canning and cold storage. These methods, when not unduly prolonged, are open to no reasonable objection. The preserving of chickens with spices and condiments may also, perhaps, be considered as desirable provided no harmful chemical preservatives are employed. The temptation, however, to employ such preservatives is so great as not to be always resisted.
Adulteration of Potted Chicken and Turkey.
—Perhaps there is no other form of potted meat, with the possible exception of pâté de foie gras, where such an opulent field for sophistication is found as in the case of potted chicken and turkey. The average composition of ten samples of alleged potted chicken and turkey, found upon the market, is shown in the following table:
| Water, | 58.52 | percent |
| Water in fat-free substance, | 71.24 | „ |
| Fat, | 17.98 | „ |
| Protein, | 19.12 | „ |
| Meat bases, | .96 | „ |
| Glycogen, | .26 | „ |
| Total ash, | 2.67 | „ |
| Of which sodium chlorid, | 1.05 | „ |
All but one of the ten samples contained starch but not in very considerable quantities, the largest amount being 4.13 percent.
None of the samples contained saltpeter. This is an interesting point because of the claim of the packers that saltpeter is used solely for preservation purposes. When a meat is expected to be of a white color no saltpeter is found while, on the contrary, where the meat is of a red character it is frequently found. Tin was present in four samples, doubtless due to some contamination with the solder or by corrosion of the tin can itself. Where tin is present due to the corrosion of the can itself it is always in greater abundance in the old than in the newly canned sample. It is quite certain that the contents of these packages were not made up of chicken and turkey exclusively. The characteristic odor and taste of smoked meats which are found in these packages would indicate that they are used to give flavor and aroma to the mixture. The addition of flavoring materials of this kind, or “force” meats as they are sometimes called, is not objectionable from any sanitary or dietetic point of view. It is, however, an offense against an ethical principle which must be closely followed in a case of this kind if the doors of fraud and adulteration are not to be left wide open. This principle is that no false idea by inference, omission or otherwise, should be conveyed to the consumer by the label. Some form of expression for potted meat should be used in which the label gives the principal or dominant meat in the mixture, accompanied by the statement that it is a mixture with other meats also named, spiced and flavored. Under the present condition of affairs a manufacturer who really wishes to put into potted form chicken and turkey with only spices and condiments has to undergo an unfair competition with another manufacturer who uses the same label and reduces the quantity of expensive meat to a minimum or may possibly leave it out altogether. Under the new food law this unfair competition will be prevented.