Crying Foul in Debate Over 'Natural' Chicken

"I would call it fraudulent," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's horticulture and organic agriculture panel. Foster Farms is one of his constituents.

Forty House members sent a letter to the Agriculture Department Oct. 11, telling regulators to tighten their labeling policies. Cardoza said he is considering holding hearings.

An untreated chicken contains about 40 to 80 milligrams of sodium per four-ounce serving, the coalition said. Pilgrim's Pride uses chicken broth, salt and carrageenan, or seaweed extract, for enhancement. Its packages of boneless breasts, which bear a sign of the American Heart Association's approval, contain 330 milligrams of sodium per serving. Tyson's contain 180 milligrams.

Federal dietary guidelines say 2,300 milligrams a day should be the sodium limit for most people. Blacks, older adults and those with high blood pressure limit their intake to 1,500 milligrams a day. The Food and Drug Administration announced it would hold a hearing Nov. 29 on a public interest group's petition that the agency consider limiting salt in processed foods.

On the allegation of charging for water, Pilgrim's Pride's Atkinson said the company's enhanced chicken costs less per pound. He wouldn't say how much less.

David Hogberg, Tyson's senior vice president for fresh-meal solutions, said injecting or enhancing chickens costs the company more than it does some competitors because of the special process Tyson developed to "deliver what consumers want with less sodium."

The Agriculture Department started dealing with the additives issue after Hormel Foods of Austin, Minn., complained last year that its competitors were labeling deli meats as natural, even though they contained a chemical preservative.

The department held a hearing in December and was reviewing comments "to determine where we go from here," Eamich said. In the meantime, Hormel sued the department over the labeling issue.

Cindy Skrzycki is a regulatory columnist for Bloomberg News. She can be reached at cskrzycki@bloomberg.net.