this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2026
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Today I Learned

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[–] SeaSgt@lemmy.zip 7 points 21 hours ago

Hmmm capitalism.

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 7 points 22 hours ago

Not just chicken, basically anything that says "VALUE ADDED" on it. The saltwater is the value.

[–] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] manuremy@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 7 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

"with added water" is pretty commonly added after the chicken, pork, whatever in the ingredients list here in Estonia.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 4 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Hard to believe 500 milligrams of sodium has no taste. I've boiled lots of chicken and theres never been enough salt to taste in it without I add a lot

[–] BanMe@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The water cooks out very fast and I'll bet the salt largely goes with it.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

Yeah some it might but at a third of the total weight I'd bet most of it precipitates into the flesh as the water heats up

[–] gramie@lemmy.ca 1 points 21 hours ago

500mg of salt is about 1/10 of a teaspoon, not very much.

[–] itisileclerk@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

At least chicken is salt brined, ready for owen.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 205 points 2 days ago (5 children)

I remember growing up seeing Foster Farms commercials saying they don't do this. It was the main theme of nearly all their ads.

When I was a teenager, I got a job at the local Foster Farms plant. My job was part of the process of injecting the chicken with saline. 😬

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 days ago

My job was part of the process of injecting the chicken with

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[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 74 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

In the US they do. In Canada it's illegal.

[–] Padit@feddit.org 31 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yup, here in the EU illegal as well.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 6 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

Not EU-wide then. Pork/chicken "with added water" is pretty common here in Estonia. Usually pre-flavored meat cuts and such. If it's completely fresh, unseasoned meat, then usually there's no water listed, so hopefully that does in fact mean they don't add water.

Here's one manufacturer's product with ingredients translated

Here's another

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[–] ViatorOmnium@piefed.social 164 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Mandatory "in the US".

While this one is technically legal in the EU, it would require labeling the salty water as an ingredient if it changes the weight significantly.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 21 hours ago

Aren't they doing it with shrimps and Salomon in the eu?

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 70 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's labeled in the US. You'll see language like "may contain up to N% x, y, z solution" etc.

However that would require us to read

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[–] zout@fedia.io 38 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I can assure you that meat in the Netherlands is also filled up with water. Pretty much all meat sold in the super markets will when cooked first release the water, causing the meat to boil for a bit before it is evaporated. They don't have to mention it on the packaging if it's below 5%, which means in reality it's closer to 10%. Since the Netherlands exports a lot of meat, it'll be all over at least Europe.

[–] ThomasWilliams@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

They feed chickens (and other animals) with that stuff that muscle builders use which causes them to get thirsty and distends the muscle cells just before slaughter.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Meat, in general, has a lot of water. It having water is not evidence of this technique. If your meat somehow doesn't have water then you need to be extra concerned.

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[–] Nomorereddit@lemmy.today 20 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Also to help packaging n shelf life. Chicken production and processing facilities are both morally and biologically disgusting.

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[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (3 children)

same with prepacked bacon. fuck you foster farms.

[–] SqueakySpider@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 14 hours ago

Don't worry, you can get it precooked!

[–] ThomasWilliams@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Because that's literally how you make bacon...

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

that's one way to make bacon

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The only bacon I buy now is thick stuff from Costco (there are two or three brands that are good at my local one), or from a butcher shop. and not even all the stuff from Costco is decent, they still carry the shitty watered down thin fatty stuff.

nothing else is worth it. I will gladly pay $22/kg for bacon that doesn't suck and two slices are an actual serving rather than $24/kg for a tiny shitty 400g package that contains basically just one serving. but I'm also buying it only occasionally in the first place.

I'm $75 away from smoking my own

[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not in sane places, it doesn't.

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[–] qevlarr@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

People didn't know this?

[–] megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

There are valid reasons to brine a chicken, this is just an extreme way to do so. The salt affects how muscle proteins behave during cooking, partially it prevents them contracting too much, thus in turn preventing the muscles from squeezing out so much liquid that they become dry. lower temperature cooking for a longer time can achieve the same effect and won’t dilute the flavor of the chicken.

Any reasonable step of preparation like brining poultry can be taken too far or done excessively, especially by companies seeking to maximize shareholder value by selling as little product as possible for the highest price. pre-brining chicken isn’t always bad, but it’s not always what you want.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] lime@feddit.nu 3 points 1 day ago

if your soylent is red in the middle you need to cook it longer.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago

Great way to cheat the customer and also ruin recipes that don't take into consideration that cups of salt water will come out while cooking the chicken.

[–] kiwifoxtrot@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Air chilled chicken does not have the same brine issue. I've only ever seen it sold as organic, but it is worth it to avoid the brine issues.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They also do this to beef, pork, and a bunch of other meats in the US. The higher water content is part of the reason preservation methods don't work as well.

For instance, trying to make Jerry out of water injected beef means you have to dry out the added water in addition to what was in the meat to start with, and you can't use the post drying weight to calculate if it is dry enough.

Plus poking the holes to add the water is one more vector for bacteria...

[–] SaraTonin@lemmy.world 44 points 2 days ago (5 children)
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[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There should be a class action lawsuit against Tyson and Perdue,.etc. We pay by the pound for chicken, not saltwater.

[–] Skv@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

You save all your chicken receipts?

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)
[–] Skv@lemmy.world 1 points 55 minutes ago

Im a madman, but not THAT mad.

[–] robolemmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 2 days ago (10 children)

And basically all frozen chicken in US stores has been pumped full of brine. That includes raw chicken parts that look otherwise unprocessed.

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