South Africa's New Chicken Brining Rules Published

SOUTH AFRICA - Long-awaited regulations on poultry meat brining have been published in South Africa, which limit the amounts of flavoured water that can be injected into meat.
calendar icon 26 April 2016
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The total brine injection allowed for whole carcasses is now limited to a maximum of 10 per cent (versus the maximum of 8 per cent that was previously prescribed). Total brine injection allowed for individual portions is limited to a maximum of 15 per cent (no limit was previously prescribed).

Other rules include deciding on a name for the brine mixture that is an accurate description of its contents, and producers must perform tests to ensure they are keeping to these rules, keeping the results for one year afterwards for auditing purposes.

The new rules will be phased in over six months.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Senzeni Zokwana, thanked stakeholders for their participation in devising the new rules.

He said the rules would be revised if new scientific evidence came to light, and said the department is committed to allowing consumers to make informed choices amongst quality poultry meat.

However, according to the Times newspaper in the country, the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) said the new regulations are an 'assault on the poor'.

“Besides the potentially devastating results on local poultry production and the jobs that depend on it‚ this constitutes an assault on the poor of South Africa who will now find the price of Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) chicken unaffordable,” SAPA CEO Kevin Lovell was reported as saying.

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