My friend Julie Van Rosendaal who writes the blogs It Must Have Been Something I Ate and Dinner with Julie sent me something truly wild.
It's a PDF from KFC that details the ingredients of their menu items.
The ingredients themselves are a veritable witch's brew of preservatives and items meant to improve things like the mouthfeel of food with such things as sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium peroxide, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate, carrageenan and many more.
The best part though is the "chicken".
Why is the word chicken in quotations?
How 'bout if I told you that 43% of the ingredient known as chicken in KFC's chicken strip wasn't chicken?
What is it?
I'll let the Colonel explain,
"Chicken Breast Strips Containing up to 43% of a Solution of: Water, Seasoning (Soy Protein Concentrate, Salt, Rice Starch, Carrageenan, Dextrose, Onion Powder, Dehydrated Chicken Broth, Maltodextrin, Spice Extractives), Sodium Phosphate. Breaded with: Wheat Flour, Salt, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Enriched Wheat Flour (Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Natural Flavor, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, Wit Not More Than 2% Calcium Silicate Added as an Anti Caking Agent."Mmmmmmmmmmm, 43% not-chicken slurry.
Thanks Julie, and thanks KFC - you're always a pleasure to blog about!
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that's not chicken, that's rocket science!!!
ReplyDeleteVery disturbing. Carrageenan though is probably the healthiest item - it's seaweed. Other than that, look's like pure gut rot.
ReplyDeletethat's amazing...i just posted a blog about mcdonalds chicken nuggets. they are pretty much in the same family. They may have even driven James Oliver Huberty to kill.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really disturbing is not just the ingredients of the "chicken," but the way that chickens are treated by the KFC corporation.
ReplyDeleteSee www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com for more information.
I used to eat KFC, now after reading the information both on this blog, and on the website above, I am boycotting KFC and advising everyone else to do the same!
Thanks,
E.F.
ugh. i have a really strange feeling in my stomach after reading that. thank goodness i havent eaten KFC in years!
ReplyDeletehaha, wow, that's disgusting!! i'm usually a freak about not eating fast food because of these reasons... I wonder how taco bell rates! yuck.
ReplyDeleteNice entry... I would suggest sticking to Chick-fil-A for great Chicken! :)
ReplyDeletehi author of Weighty Matters. Here's a good tip to increase your views by many many more times. It works for everyone and the more you have, the more you will get. go to www.awokentoreality.blogspot.com
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please reply back if you have read my message! thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey Folk
ReplyDeleteThanks buddy.I am a regular at kfc and all the time i jump in,my order is "three chicken breast please".Then I will have some potato chips,mayonnaise and a cold drink.I have never dreamt it could have a mixture or a combination of "components and modules".How disgraceful is that?I feel sick but delighted.I am really sick to have this knowledge.I know this today marks the end of my kfc,but first i need to take your two thumbs up for this post
Dear Yoni:
ReplyDeleteMy compliments on your superbly detailed (and somewhat frightening!) posts. You provide an excellent "dietary supplement" to the mainstream media. Many a parent is undoubtedly suffering serious heartburn even as I write this.
Accordingly, I am delighted to place a link to your humorous and informative blog on our blog for the CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL OBESITY FOUNDATION at http://CIOFoundation.blogspot.com.
You provide excellent material for those of us who are concerned about overweight and obesity in children to chew on.
Respectfully,
Douglas Castle
Senior Advisor to the Board,
CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL OBESITY FOUNDATION. (www.ciofoundation.org)
Now that's just plain nasty. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteYeni, that 43 percent is probably 40 percent water and 3 percent other stuff.
ReplyDeleteEven fresh chicken has a good bit of water added (but is exempted from labeling). A kilogram of pork can yield anything from one to two and a half kilograms of ham, just due to the water content.
ewwww. Will never touch that stuff again. Carrageenan is from red algae. In lots of food as a thickener but never realized it was in KFC.
ReplyDeleteI always knew there was a reason that my parents refused to get take-out food like KFC except as a rare treat: that stuff isn't even real food!
ReplyDeleteYuck. So glad I do not eat KFC anymore.
It is great how you break down and analyze the lies of different food companies on their so called "healthy" foods. I find it quite interesting to see how they try to trick the public. I am really glad that you are helping to educate the public on these issues.
ReplyDeleteI found it particularly interesting that KFC "Chicken" contains Carrageenan. This ingredient is also found in many brands of Soy milk, or other alternative milk products. Although it does come from seaweed, it is not healthy and can cause many people gastric discomfort. It is because of this ingredient that I have to carefully read the labels of alternative milk products. Many people are quite allergic to it.
I love how in the midst of all the xantham gum and and the monosodium glutamate, they still protect the secret recipe with a catch-all phrase, "spices".
ReplyDeleteI haven't eaten at KFC since I was served up a deep-fried feather.
wow, i wasn't a big fan of KFC anyway, but that's just down right scary! yet another reason not to eat fast food.
ReplyDeleteAS I suspected....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight and bout of nausea!
I'm convinced! No more KFC! Now that that type of chicken is out, I was wondering what your opinion is on beef in the USA after that giant recall. It just doesn't seem safe to eat anymore. But I'd like a second opinion. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow, awful. I haven't been there since 2001 or so and prob will never go there again. That's just GROSS.
ReplyDeleteGross! KFC is no longer an option for dinner!
ReplyDeletei always knew it was like this!!!!
ReplyDeleteDidn't that list include the breading? I'm confused. In any case the breading shouldn't constitute 43% of the food itself, and no one should eat at KFC ever. As another commenter mentioned, the way the company treats its animals is pretty digusting too. Speaking of which, I'm watching a food safety hearing on C-Span right now and they're talking about downer cows and beef recalls. Eggggh Big Food sux.
ReplyDeleteI think we don't realize MOST of what we eat at restaurants. Check out www.thesmartcalorie.com to see the nutritional values of foods at over 300 restaurants - not to mention all the foods you can even THINK of finding in a grocery store.
ReplyDeleteewwwwwwwwwwwwww! I may never eat KFC again!
ReplyDeleteDid you guys also know that "gelatin" is(can be other disgusting stuff too ) animal bones?
ReplyDelete