Tesco Cooked Chicken

Can anyone tell me what's the definition of a "Class-A" fresh chicken ? Tescos sells these cooked at their deli. I'm just wondering how "good" these chickens are, compared to say an organic chicken.

Has not been killed too long but is still loaded with hormones and spent it's life in a small cage.

Class A doesn't mean anything AFAIK

Squonk said:

Can anyone tell me what's the definition of a "Class-A" fresh chicken ? Tescos sells these cooked at their deli. I'm just wondering how "good" these chickens are, compared to say an organic chicken.

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Organic Chicken!!!! Excuse my lang but, WTF aren't they all organic?
Unless it means fed on organic foods?

Non organic chickens live miserable lives cooped up day and night in small cages. The chickens are given drugs to speed up their growth as they are killed after a short time. They are also pumped full of antibiotics as diseases spread rapidly through the cramped un-ventialted cages. The drugs and hromones make them taste tastless and bland compared to organic chickens. Very often the birds grow so fast that their legs cannot support their bodies. Also because much of the birds' time is spent sitting in cramped conditions, and as no fresh litter is given, the legs and breasts of many birds are burnt by the manure.

The extra cost of the organic chicken is well worth it.

Free range chickens lead okay lives too but are not necessarily totally organic.

Squonk said:

I'm just wondering how "good" these chickens are, compared to say an organic chicken.

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Good in what sense? Price? Taste? Environmental "friendliness"? "Humaneness" of production methods? Behaviour?

you can compare the taste and skin tone of these chicks with Tesco and Marks & Spencers...the price says it all!

ClubMan said:

Good in what sense? Price? Taste? Environmental "friendliness"? "Humaneness" of production methods? Behaviour?

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In this sense...the price is cheaper no doubt for a Tesco chicken (~€5) then for an organic chicken. How much does an organic chicken cost? I've never tasted an organic chicken so I can't compare (but the Tesco ones sure taste pretty good to me). Are organic chickens rellay that tastier? I've found some other organic foods I've had in the past to be bland. I would like to know the background as to how the chickens were reared....some of the previous replies were frightening. My original question was centred on what Tescos call a "Class A" chicken and I still have no idea what that means (google reveals nothing to me).

Originally posted by Squonk
My original question was centred on what Tescos call a "Class A" chicken

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In Tesco's fruit department I've seen "Class A" used to describe one type of strawberry which are more expensive. They usually look better than other ungraded ones so I suppose Class A is meant to convey a better quality of product. When it comes to battery reared chickens I can't see how Class A can make any difference given the revolting way battery chickens are reared.

The main difference I find with an organic chicken (very pricey ~ €18 to €20 in Supervalu) is that the raw meat isn't flabby, it's tastier, the bones are stronger and while cooking the smell is much nicer. I guess the reason the bones are stronger is because they've been able to walk around before being killed. The problem is cost with a 3 to 4 times price differential. AFAIK food is a lot cheaper now than it used to be so buying organic is a consumer choice with low cost often being the determining factor. I don't think there is any difference from a nutritional point of view.

The Irish chef, Richard Corrigan, has been loud in his criticism of the way Irish chickens and pigs are reared describing them as tasteless..... while at the same time he believes that Irish food is or could be the best in the world. He has a programme on RTE1 on Tuesdays around 7pm.