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SINGAPORE: Earlier this year, Benjamin Ang began raising his own chickens in a community space on Henderson Road; he wanted fresh eggs and premium chickens raised in what he considered humane conditions.
Valued for their superior meat, the French chickens he raises, poulet de Bresse, are among the most expensive chickens in the world.
A frozen Bresse costs between S $ 50-70 each, compared to around S $ 4 for a normal frozen rotisserie chicken that you can find in a supermarket.
“The chicken (de Bresse) has been described as the queen of poultry and the chicken of kings. They have been specifically bred for their taste and meat texture, ”Ang said.
“If you’re looking at the quality of the meat or the experience of something different, I’d say it’s definitely worth it.”
Benjamin Ang showing Talking Point host Steven Chia a Bresse rooster.
Bresse chickens are priced higher as they require more personal space, and a third of their diet consists of naturally foraging earthworms, insects and grass.
These days chickens come with many labels such as corn-fed, free-range, and organic, with each variety promising to be more environmentally friendly, healthier, and tastier than the average chicken.
But all of these labels may lead you to wonder what “antibiotic-free” or “probiotic-fueled” really means. And how do these varieties affect the nutritional value of the meat? The Talking Point program uncovers six things to know when buying chicken.
1. WHAT DO THE LABELS MEAN?
100% organic: To obtain certification, these poultry must be raised without antibiotics, provided with 100% organic feed and access to the open air.
For example, Ryan’s Grocery co-founder Wendy Foo said that the organic chickens she sells are from Australia and when they are sick they are given essential oils, rather than antibiotics.
No antibiotic residues: These chickens have been given antibiotics, but they are removed from their feed a few days before being slaughtered, so that no residue remains in the meat when it is processed.
Powered with probioticsInstead of growth-promoting antibiotics, said James Sim, head of business development at Kee Song Food Corporation (Singapore), these chickens are fed probiotics.
In the case of the company’s flagship product, Lacto Chicken, they feed on lactobacillus to boost their immune system.
OBSERVE: Is it safe to eat chickens raised on antibiotics? (2:31)
Free range: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) generally allows this term to be used if the hens have access to the outdoors for at least part of the day.
However, the USDA has no provision on the time you spend outside or the amount of space provided.
As for kampung chickens, they are a breed of chickens, Foo notes. Originally free-range raised, they are now very likely cage-raised.
Industrial farms: Although not labeled as such, these are the most common chickens sold in supermarkets. Known as broilers, they are raised for meat production.
Kept in cages where living conditions are typically “not that hygienic,” they are fed antibiotics “to keep them healthy,” Foo said.
A vendor picks up a broiler from a cage at the Mbare market in Harare. (File photo: AFP / Jekesai Njikizana)
2. WILL ANTIBIOTICS HARM ME?
Antibiotics are used globally in the livestock industry to prevent and treat infectious bacterial diseases, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said on its website.
However, antibiotic-treated poultry “cannot be processed for feeding until a specified waiting period has been observed to allow the antibiotic residues to be sufficiently removed from the system.”
The SFA prescribes maximum residue levels (MRLs) “so that we know that the chicken we buy is safe for consumption,” said William Chen, director of the food science and technology program at Nanyang Technological University.
There is a strict inspection scheme to ensure drug residues do not exceed those levels, added the professor.
Professor William Chen is a leading authority on emerging food safety and technology in Singapore.
Just last month, the SFA suspended the import of live chickens from a farm in Malaysia after detecting drug residues in excess of MRLs in samples collected from a shipment of chickens from the farm.
All imported and local food products are subject to periodic inspection and sampling, including for harmful bacteria.
The chances of antibiotic-resistant bacteria entering chicken meat are also “very low,” as these bacteria are typically found in the digestive system of poultry, Chen said.
“When we cook chicken properly, all bacteria, whether they are resistant to antibiotics or not, will be killed. Therefore, consumers should not worry too much about eating chicken bought from the supermarket or from the wet market. “
Safe for consumption.
3. HOW DOES THE CHICKEN DIET AFFECT YOUR MEAT?
The texture of the meat depends on the food, Foo said. For example, meat from chickens fed bromelain, a digestive enzyme extracted from pineapple, is leaner and firmer, as well as less fat and cholesterol, he cited.
What an animal eats has an effect on its fat. “That’s where you get a lot of flavor from,” Annie King of the Department of Animal Science at the University of California at Davis told Popular Science magazine.
But not all of the flavors the animal eats will carry over into the meat, as some compounds will be metabolized before reaching fat, the magazine reported.
4. DOES FOOD AFFECT NUTRITIONAL VALUE??
Regardless of what chickens eat, the feed formulation is such that it provides certain amounts of nutrition.
Farmers would calculate the proportions of raw materials to provide, say, the energy levels that chickens “require for their functional maintenance,” said Lynn Tan, a poultry health expert.
Some chickens are fed grains such as brown rice or quinoa, as consumers are well aware of the “purported health benefits” of these ingredients.
“This could trigger a positive psychological effect on the consumer,” said the veterinarian. “But it doesn’t actually increase the fiber content of chicken meat … It’s just one aspect of marketing that people should be aware of.”
He added that “I wouldn’t pay much more” for chickens fed brown rice, corn and soybeans, “because I know that ultimately the nutritional formula will be the same as a typical commercially fed chicken.”
Chia with Dr. Lynn Tan, who has spent more than 12 years helping poultry farms.
5. WHY ARE PREMIUM CHICKENS MORE EXPENSIVE?
A bromelain-fed chicken costs about S $ 19 per kilogram, while a corn-fed, soy-fed cage-free chicken costs about S $ 23. A 100% free organic chicken costs S $ 42 / kg.
They cost a premium because growth promoting antibiotics are generally not given, thus taking longer to reach the ideal size for slaughter.
For example, it takes at least 56 days for a free-range chicken and 81 days for an organic one, compared to 40 days for a broiler.
Then there is the amount of space given. Organic chickens get the most space, about 10 chickens per square meter; free-range chickens at about 12 chickens per square meter; and conventional broilers at approximately 17 chickens per square meter.
Some premium chickens are also fed slightly more premium foods such as corn, soybeans, organic foods, brown rice, and probiotics.
6. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF POULTRY FARMING?
There are a growing number of poultry farmers in Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries that are switching to farming without the use of growth-promoting antibiotics and on a larger scale, Sim said.
This is to give consumers a healthier option “in terms of good quality protein.”
Their chickens even roam in barns with ambient music, that is, classical music.
“It’s a way to promote a calmer and… less stressful environment. If they don’t feel as much stress, they grow healthier and their meat is a little more tender, ”he said.
Check out this episode of Talking Point here. New episodes on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.
