How much added water is allowed in a chicken without it being declared on the label?

benawhile

I bought some chicken legs at Morrison and after I broke the seal and cooked one I put the rest in the freezer . When I got another frozen one out and thawed it it weighed 300g raw. But after cooking in the oven it weighed 150gm. Is this normal? There was no added water declared on the label

DullGreyGuy

Was it "fresh" or frozen? By all accounts the rules are complex and whilst many supermarkets to add water they argue that it doesn't have to be declared. If you look at Tesco their frozen chicken does state they've added water but the fresh is silent. 

It's not unique to meats though, you won't see many fresh apples declaring the wax on their skin but its why they lack the vegan logo in the likes of Pret. 

Mnoee

It's 5% for most meat. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meat-products-sell-them-legally-in-england#products-with-added-water

But, that's ADDED water. Most meat will lose about 25% of the weight when cooked.

benawhile

I bought them fresh, then froze them at home. Mnoee thank you, I didn't know 25% was lost.

I wonder if meat in a freezer can absorb more water if not sealed.

The main problem with this for me is that I may be making a 100% error calculating the protein content of what I am eating. The pack label says 25mg/100mg but is that based on the weight before or after cooking?

Mnoee

Assuming it's the same as this pack - https://groceries.morrisons.com/products/morrisons-chicken-legs-252640011 the nutritional information shows 'as consumed', so that's cooked and just the weight of the meat, not the bone. You'll never get close to an accurate measure if you're including the weight of the bone. 

benawhile

Very helpful, thank you, I hadn't noticed that

MrsStepford

We went organic after buying Tesco pork chops, which didn't mention 11% added water, glucose syrup and two additives on the pack front. It wasn't until we opened the packaging, that we discovered this on the reverse of the pack front label. The website hadn't mentioned this either. 

PLRFD

Bit sneaky that is and I would have thought against some kind of consumer law.

DullGreyGuy

benawhile said:

I wonder if meat in a freezer can absorb more water if not sealed.

In a freezer all water should be a solid and therefore cannot be absorbed. 

We tend to buy fresh rather than frozen meats (and self freeze if needed) where the labelling rules seem to be a bit less rigorous. There is a vast difference between the size of a 200g chicken breast after cooking if bought from Tesco or our local butcher. Haven't ever gone as far as weighing both post cooking to see if the visual size is reflected in weight too. 

benawhile said:

The main problem with this for me is that I may be making a 100% error calculating the protein content of what I am eating. The pack label says 25mg/100mg but is that based on the weight before or after cooking?

Most ratios are going to be on raw weight as they cannot control how you cook it and some could sous vide with minimal liquid loss and others could forget its in the oven and dry it out totally 

brianposter

I thought it was some sort of fat that was added. Presumably the added liquid can be used to adjust the portion weight and consequently may vary with each item.

General_Grant

DullGreyGuy said:

benawhile said:

I wonder if meat in a freezer can absorb more water if not sealed.

In a freezer all water should be a solid and therefore cannot be absorbed. 

We tend to buy fresh rather than frozen meats (and self freeze if needed) where the labelling rules seem to be a bit less rigorous. There is a vast difference between the size of a 200g chicken breast after cooking if bought from Tesco or our local butcher. Haven't ever gone as far as weighing both post cooking to see if the visual size is reflected in weight too. 

benawhile said:

The main problem with this for me is that I may be making a 100% error calculating the protein content of what I am eating. The pack label says 25mg/100mg but is that based on the weight before or after cooking?

Most ratios are going to be on raw weight as they cannot control how you cook it and some could sous vide with minimal liquid loss and others could forget its in the oven and dry it out totally 

Labels I recall reading have generally specified a cooking method - either in the nutritional information box or the "how to cook" section with only one method.