Paper Thing Under Chicken in Store Packaging Made From What?
Have you ever wondered about that paper inside the chicken package? It looks strange, but it has a job, and it's helping keep your kitchen clean!
What is the Paper Inside the Chicken Package?
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If you've ever bought chicken (or any other meat) at the grocery store, you've seen that paper in the bottom of the package. Sometimes it looks like paper, sometimes it looks like a sponge. It always seems just sort of… gross. If you're anything like me, you gingerly pick it up by a corner and toss it in the trash, wondering why it's there in the first place. So I did a little digging, and I've got the answer for you!
What is it?
That stuff in the bottom of your package of chicken, that sort of looks like paper and sort of looks like a sponge? It's an absorbent pad. So it's more or less a sponge. Some people call them "meat diapers," but that doesn't help it feel any less yucky, does it? We'll stick with calling it an absorbent pad. In the United States, all the materials that are used in that pad have to be approved by the Food & Drug Administration before it touches your food.
Why is it there?
Well, as you might guess from the name "absorbent pad," that funny looking paper is there to absorb liquids. You can find these pads in any packaged, cut meat (chicken parts, steaks, ribs, roasts, ground meats, etc.).
Meat is made up of tons of cells. The cells mainly contain water. There is also water held in between the cells. As meat is handled (cut, packaged, moved, frozen, and thawed), some of that water leaks out. That is why that absorbent pad is included in the meat packaging – it keeps the "meat water" from making a mess everywhere.
And, it's not really called "meat water." But you probably already knew that. The real name for that liquid is "purge." (Frankly, that's not much better than "meat water" or "meat diapers." Scientists just aren't very good at giving things names.)
In addition to water, the purge also contains myoglobin. Myoglobin is a protein inside muscle. Myoglobin is similar to hemoglobin in your blood, but it is a little different. Both myoglobin and hemoglobin hold onto oxygen, and both are red. That is why the purge liquid usually looks pink or red, or even look like blood – because it has myoglobin in it. You can find out some more about "purge" in this article from Mom at the Meat Counter.
You probably already know that you should store raw meats on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator. We say that this is to reduce the risk of cross-contamination – and this is where this strange absorbent pad is very helpful. If there is bacteria on your meat, it will also be in the purge liquid. If the liquid leaks out of the packaging, it can carry bacteria with it. If the liquid stays inside the absorbent pad, the bacteria will stay there as well.
What if I accidentally cook the absorbent pad?
It happens. One year, I roasted our Thanksgiving turkey with a bag of giblets inside the neck cavity. Obviously, it is not recommended to cook the packaging with your food. But… As long as the absorbent pad or other packaging is not damaged or broken during cooking, the food is safe to eat. If there is melted plastic with your food, or if the absorbent pad has broken, then you should discard the packaging and (unfortunately) your dinner, too.
Let me show you the absorbent pad in a package of chicken I just bought in this video:
Don't worry about that funny looking paper in the bottom of the chicken package. It is there to keep the packaging – and your kitchen – a little cleaner.
What other questions do you have about food packaging?
Enjoy?
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Paper Thing Under Chicken in Store Packaging Made From What?
Source: https://www.myfearlesskitchen.com/paper-inside-chicken-package/