Chicken Nuggets Found to Be Only 50 Percent Meat

Researchers from the University of Mississippi analyzed chicken nuggets from two local unnamed fast food chains and the results, which were published last month in the American Journal of Medicine, showed that the ubiquitous fast food item contains far less meat than customers may have thought. The researchers found that one chicken nugget was only comprised of 40 percent muscle—the remaining 60 percent was mainly fat, connective tissue, and bone. The other chicken nugget was found to be only 50 percent meat—the other half was primarily fat and blood vessels. “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,” says study author Doctor Richard D. deShazo to Reuters.