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| Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association,
10-August-2007, Vol 120 No 1259
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Cheaper than chicken: protein foods ranked by
supermarket prices
Background to our study—Food safety
scientists in New Zealand have identified chicken meat (especially fresh
chicken) as the main source of human infection with Campylobacter in
New Zealand.1 Similarly, poultry is an
important source of human infection in Europe,2
and consumption of fresh chicken meat the leading risk factor in
Denmark.3 Campylobacter infection has
been the most commonly reported notifiable disease in New Zealand for many
years, and continues to increase.4,5,6
Consumers may wish to lower their risk of
Campylobacter infection which currently estimated at around 1 in 35 per
year (based on an estimate of 120,000 community cases per
year6). Consuming frozen rather than fresh
chicken is likely to reduce the risk.5
6 But since frozen chicken still has some
Campylobacter contamination, consumers could also reduce overall
chicken consumption. Given that chicken meat is a relatively low-cost protein
food, it may be useful to identify protein foods which are cheaper than
chicken.
Our study’s methods—The
Woolworths Supermarket website7 provided data
on the three categories of fresh (i.e. “chicken whole”,
“chicken breast”, and “chicken kebabs”) and frozen (i.e.
“chicken whole”, “chicken breast”, and “chicken
nuggets”) chicken products with the most items listed. The cheapest fresh
and frozen items by weight, within these six categories, were identified in a
Wellington Woolworths store (on 21 July 2007).
To identify potential alternatives, we searched the New
Zealand Food Composition Database8 to find food
categories with items containing at least 10% protein (by weight). We then
checked the in-store prices to identify the lowest cost items by weight. From
all the selected lowest cost items we abstracted the protein and saturated fat
levels from the product nutrition labels (on the packaging or bulk bin labels).
Results—The results indicate that 10
categories of food had at least one item that provided cheaper protein than the
frozen chicken (Table 1). Two additional categories (e.g. including processed
meats and seeds) provided cheaper protein than fresh chicken as well. Six of the
10 foods that provided cheaper protein than frozen chicken also had better
ratios of protein to saturated fat (over 20 times better for the pulses and
cereal items).
Discussion—This analysis was limited
to one supermarket at one point in time. Also the range of chicken products
examined was not the entire range (i.e. there were actually 572 products in the
Woolworths online store that included the word “chicken”). A more
sophisticated analysis could also address the complex issue of the nature of the
protein quality as plant protein is nutritionally inferior to animal protein
(though this problem can be minimised by combining plant protein sources within
the same meal e.g. combining pulses and grains).
Table 1. Cost of protein-containing foods
(≥10%) relative to the cheapest identified frozen and fresh chicken meats,
in order of ascending cost per 100 g of protein (for one NZ supermarket on a
single day)
a Prices were those
listed on the Woolworths website, or failing that an actual supermarket (with
all prices ignoring “specials”); b
Increased from “nil” on the packet to “0.1” to allow for
the ratio calculation; c The next cheapest
fresh red meat was sheep’s heart at $3.02 per 100 g of protein (i.e. also
cheaper than the frozen chicken); d From the NZ
Food Composition Database,8 since there was no
data on the package or bulk bin label; e Based
on the mid-point of the chicken weight range on the packet and adjusted for the
estimated 28% of the weight which is bone (based on the US Department of
Agriculture Database9). The protein and
saturated fat levels are for the edible portion only;
f These were comprised of 66% meat with the
order of listed meat types being: lamb, beef, pork and chicken;
g Including all canned red meats, fresh and
frozen fish, soft cheeses, whey protein drinks, some canned vegetarian foods,
and some types of muesli. BB – bulk bin.
The results are slightly biased in favour of the
cost-effectiveness of protein from chicken since it is likely some chicken meat
gets discarded with bones and other unused parts of the chicken (i.e. the US
Department of Agriculture’s food nutrient database assumes that 49% of the
weight of a whole chicken is “refuse” consisting of 28% bone, 14%
skin and 7% separable fat9). Furthermore, we
have not considered how chicken sometimes gets cooked relative to the other
foods—e.g. with the addition of extra fats for frying.
Despite the study limitations, the availability of many
protein sources that are cheaper than chicken (by weight), suggests that
consumers can avoid chicken in their diet without cost or nutritional
disadvantage. This is an important consideration for household food choices and
national policy options. None of the selected alternative protein foods are
implicated as major risk factors for Campylobacter in New Zealand (or
for Salmonella infection as chicken is also sometimes contaminated with
this organism in this country10). Most of the
alternative foods are also less hazardous for saturated fat intake than chicken
(per mass of protein obtained).
Some of the cheaper protein foods also have other
nutritional advantages relative to chicken meat—e.g. for various
micronutrients (especially the eggs, liver, milk, and nuts); beneficial fatty
acids (the fish and nuts); and dietary fibre (the wholemeal bread, pulses, and
cereals).
One study has reported better nutrient density scores for a
range of foods in comparison with poultry meat (e.g. fish, organ meats,
vegetables, and legumes).11 Nevertheless, there
are concerns about some of these alternative protein foods in this
analysis—the high levels of saturated fat and salt in some foods such as
cheese; the mercury levels in some fish species; and the environmental
sustainability of fish. Even so, chicken meat may be less sustainable than some
other meats in New Zealand as up to 70% of chicken feed is
imported.12
In summary, this relatively small study provides some
preliminary guidance to consumers who want cheap protein foods but without the
high risk of Campylobacter infection associated with consuming
contaminated chicken meat.
Competing interests: There was no
external funding for this work. One of the authors (NW) has had two previous
research contracts with the NZ Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) in 2005 and another
author (MB) has provided technical advice to the NZFSA.
Nick Wilson1, Carolyn
Watts1, Osman
Mansoor2, Gabrielle
Jenkin1, Michael
Baker1
References:
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