CHICKEN nuggets are only half meat, according to researchers who conducted an "autopsy" on the fast food staple.
The US researchers studied nuggets from two fast food chains, which they decided not to name.
The first nugget they tested was made of 50 per cent muscle tissue - the real meat from the breast or thigh of the chicken - but the rest was made up of fat, blood vessels and nerves.
The second chicken nugget only had 40 per cent muscle tissue and the rest was made up of fat, cartilage and bone, Reuters reports.
Lead researcher Richard D deShazo, from the University of Mississippi Medical Centre, said white chicken meat was one of the best sources of lean protein available, but nuggets were a bad choice.
"What has happened is that some companies have chosen to use an artificial mixture of chicken parts rather than low-fat chicken white meat, batter it up and fry it and still call it chicken," Dr deShazo said.
"It is really a chicken byproduct high in calories, salt, sugar and fat that is a very unhealthy choice. Even worse, it tastes great and kids love it and it is marketed to them."
Ashley Peterson, vice president the National Chicken Council which represents the US chicken industry, said the study's sample size of two nuggets was too small to fairly represent an entire category of food.
"This study evaluates only two chicken nugget samples out of the billions of chicken nuggets that are made every year," Mr Peterson said.
"Chicken nuggets are an excellent source of protein, especially for kids who might be picky eaters."
Scientists took a close look at the chicken nugget and discovered what some may have suspected: it's not full of what we might think of as meat.
A study published online in September in the American Journal of Medicine -- cleverly titled "The Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets Reads 'Chicken Little'" - revealed that two nuggets from fast food chains in Jackson, Miss. contained only about half of what we would consider chicken meat.
"We all know white chicken meat to be one of the best sources of lean protein available and encourage our patients to eat it," lead author Dr. Richard D. deShazo of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, said to Reuters. "What has happened is that some companies have chosen to use an artificial mixture of chicken parts rather than low-fat chicken white meat, batter it up and fry it and still call it chicken."
For the research, nuggets were preserved, dissected and stained before they were examined under a microscope.Nugget number one was about 50 percent muscle tissue such as from the breast or thigh, which is what most people think of when they think of chicken meat. The rest of it was made from fat, blood vessels and nerves, specifically the cells that line the skin and internal organs of the chicken.
Nugget number two was 40 percent muscle. The rest was fat, cartilage and bone.DeShazo said the study shows chicken nuggets are actually chicken by-product consisting of mostly salt, sugar and fat -- all of which are calories. What's worse, he said, is that they are marketed to kids, especially because they are tasty and relatively cheap. He said if his grandchildren asks for nuggets, he compromises by pan frying some chicken breasts with a little bit of oil.
The researchers are remaining mum on which chains the chicken came from.
