Choosing the right chicken

MANILA, Philippines -    For moms, choosing the right chicken is very important. It not only guarantees that the chicken is fresh, but more importantly, that the food she cooks for her family is safe to eat. So, how do you choose the right chicken? Chef Melissa Sison, academic programs manager of Center for Culinary Arts, shares this guide to choosing the right chicken for your family.

 1. Packaging. As much as possible, choose chicken that is sealed well. An air-tight, tamper-proof vacuum-packaging ensures that you are the first one to touch your chicken.

2. All-natural. Make sure that the chicken you are buying is free from artificial enhancers. Hormone and steroid supplementation as a practice has been banned internationally for 40 years now. Your chicken of choice should contain only the hormones that are naturally produced. Check labels and select the ones that say “All natural, no added hormones and no added steroids.”

3. Triple-washed.  Always check the label to be sure that the chicken you buy is triple-washed for “in-the-bag-freshness.” Triple-washing ensures that the chicken you bought is processed in a state-of-the-art facility – adhering only to the strictest measures in food manufacturing. It only utilizes distilled water in the process, making your chicken ready-to-cook without the stench.

4. Brand. Also check where the chicken came from.  Read the package and look for approval from the government like the National Meat Inspection Service, certifications like ISO or industry awards that will ensure that the brand adheres to industry standards.

 “Vacuum-packaging is the one of the latest technologies  in manufacturing chicken. It guarantees that the chicken stays fresh and tastier,” says Patricia Cheng, group marketing head of Bounty Fresh Chicken. She elaborates, “Vacuum-packaging also extends the shelf-life of the chicken by as much as five times its normal refrigerated life. No wonder  it has been an established international standard for quite some time, and deemed as the most efficient way of packaging our food products.”

 Bounty Fresh Chicken’s vision to provide the highest quality chicken products is demonstrated by its continuous partnership with the leading supermarkets and Chooks-to-Go outlets.