Measurement / residue studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-CHK-132 standard review
Processed chicken products are much fattier than plain chicken meat
Fatty acid composition of cooked chicken meat and chicken meat products as influenced by price range at retail.
Overview
Gibbs RA et al.. Food Chem 2013 · PMID 23411307 · DOI 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.11.002
Nuggets and burgers had much more fat than chicken meat; organic and conventional meat were similar.
Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: moderate
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Does fatty acid composition of chicken differ by price range (economy, standard, organic) and product type?
- How was the study done?
Retail survey of skinless breast/leg portions and processed products from four UK supermarkets
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
not stated in abstract
- What was actually found?
Few significant differences among price ranges for skinless breast and leg; supermarket had no effect. Processed products (burgers, nuggets) had much higher fat and SFA and lower long-chain n-3 than whole meat. No evidence that organic breast or leg meat had a more favourable fatty acid composition.
- How large was the observed effect?
Few significant differences among price ranges for skinless breast and leg; supermarket had no effect. Processed products (burgers, nuggets) had much higher fat and SFA and lower long-chain n-3 than whole meat. No evidence that organic breast or leg meat had a more favourable fatty acid composition.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Choose plain, skinless chicken rather than processed products if you want lean meat.
- What are the study's limitations?
Sample size not in abstract; UK only
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Limits the claim: fattiness depends on product and skin, not on 'modern broiler' per se.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
UK data, close to EU.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
No fat:protein ratio given in abstract.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Gibbs RA et al.
- Journal
- Food Chem
- Year
- 2013
- Identifier
- PMID 23411307 DOI 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.11.002
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26; Crossref 2026-10-26
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
not stated in abstract
2. Research question
Does fatty acid composition of chicken differ by price range (economy, standard, organic) and product type?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Measurement / residue study – Retail survey of skinless breast/leg portions and processed products from four UK supermarkets
- Population
Retail chicken products
- Country
United Kingdom
- Period
not stated
- Sample size
not stated in abstract
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
as described in the abstract
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Economy and standard (conventional) chicken
- Comparator
Organic chicken
- Endpoints
SFA, MUFA, PUFA, long-chain n-3
- Statistical methods
as reported in the abstract
5. Actual results
- Results
Few significant differences among price ranges for skinless breast and leg; supermarket had no effect. Processed products (burgers, nuggets) had much higher fat and SFA and lower long-chain n-3 than whole meat. No evidence that organic breast or leg meat had a more favourable fatty acid composition.
- Absolute risks
not reported
- Authors' conclusion
No evidence that organic chicken meat had a more favourable fatty acid composition than conventional.
6. Strengths
- Retail sampling, multiple supermarkets
7. Weaknesses
- Sample size not in abstract
- UK only
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- some concerns
- Rationale
Descriptive survey.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Product form (processed vs whole) matters more than production system.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Independent UK data on modern retail chicken composition.
11. Independent contrary findings
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
13. Overall methodological judgement
Nuggets and burgers had much more fat than chicken meat; organic and conventional meat were similar.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | moderate |
| Risk of bias | some concerns |
| Precision of results | low |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | partly replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | moderate |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
15. Linked fact checks
- The modern broiler provides more energy from fat than from protein, with an omega-6:omega-3 ratio up to 9:1 instead of the recommended 2:1. – Studies with mixed or unclear results