The Autopsy of Chicken NuggetRichard D. deShazo, MD,a,b Steven Bigler, MD,c Leigh BaldwinaDepartment of Medicine and bDepartment of Pediatrics, University ofBaptist Medical Center, Jackson, Miss.

e the contents of chicken nuggets from 2 national food chainn nuggets have become a major component of the Americaomposition of this highly processed food.selected nuggets from 2 different national fast food chains wfor microscopic analysis.cle (chicken meat) was not the predominate component in eater quantities along with epithelium, bone, nerve, and connenuggets are mostly fat, and their name is a misnomer.ll rights reserved. The American Journal of Medicine (20Fast food; Fat; Obesity

Mississippi, the state capitol, is theepicenter.1 The metropolitan area,

panies offeringfast food outlerestrictions arelaw.3 Becausea favorite ofobesity epidemthem as well, wa bit more abocontemporarycould be impo

nuggets over the counter at eachof 2 national fast food chain res-

selected atox and xeded for histol-in parafn.ith a micro-

ith hematoxy-) or trichomeic evaluation.ns are shown

RESULTS

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Fast food chicken nuggets have becomea staple of the American diet.

BRIEF OBSERVATIONDepartment of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500The nugget from the rst restaurant (Figure 1) wascomposed of approximately 50% skeletal muscle, with theremainder composed primarily of fat, with some bloodvessels and nerve present (Figure 1A, trichome stain, 40).Higher-power views showed generous quantities of epithe-lium and associated supportive tissue (Figure 1B, H&E,

Funding: None.Conict of Interest: None.Authorship: All authors had equal access to the data and preparation of

this manuscript.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Richard D. deShazo, MD,North State StreetE-mail address

0002-9343/$ -seehttp://dx.doi.org/1s 50 different com-varying numbers ofts.2 Restaurant foodprohibited by statechicken nuggets arechildren, and theic now extends toe thought knowing

ut the content of thechicken nugget

rtant.

taurants near our accenter in Jackson,One nugget wasrandom from each bin formalin, processogy, and embeddedSections were cut wtome and stained wlin and eosin (H&Estain for microscopRepresentative sectioin the Figures.

The composition of the present daychicken nugget is not well understood.

Our histopathological analysis of rep-resentative chicken nuggets showsthat chicken is not necessarily a majorcomponent.

The term chicken nugget is amisnomer.which has just over a half millioncitizens, boast

ademic healthMississippi.ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determinBACKGROUND: Chickedetermine the current cMETHODS: Randomlysectioned and stainedRESULTS: Striated muspresent in equal or greCONCLUSION: Chicken 2013 Elsevier Inc. A

KEYWORDS: Chicken;

Mississippi leads the nationsepidemic of obesity, and Jackson,400), including squamo(Figure 1C, H&E, 100

, Jackson, MS 39216.: rdeshazo@umc.edu

front matter 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.0.1016/j.amjmed.2013.05.005s.n diet. We sought to

ere xed in formalin,

ither nugget. Fat wasctive tissue.

13) 126, 1018-1019

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe bought an order of chickens Reads Chicken LittleSkipworth, BAa

Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson; cDepartment of Pathology,us epithelium from skin or viscera).

Figure 2 Nugget from the second restaurant. (A) Trichomestain, 40X; (B) hematoxylin and eosin, 400X; (C) hematoxylin

deShazo et al Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets 1019Figure 1 Nugget from the rst restaurant. (A) Trichomestain, 40X; (B) hematoxylin and eosin, 400X; (C) hematoxylinand eosin, 100X.The nugget from the second restaurant (Figure 2)was composed of approximately 40% skeletal muscle(Figure 2A, trichome stain 40). Here too, there weregenerous quantities of fat and other tissue, including con-nective tissue (Figure 2B) and bone spicules (Figure 2C,both stained with H&E, 400).

DISCUSSIONFood science has allowed modication of a superb source oflean protein into a variety of processed poultry productsmarketed as inexpensive convenience foods that are high insalt, sugar, and fat.4 Available information suggests that theaverage composition of chicken nuggets from restaurantchain 1 is 56% fat, 25% carbohydrates, and 19% protein,and from restaurant chain 2 is 58% fat, 24% carbohydrates,and 18% protein.5

Our analysis conrms that chicken nuggets available atnational fast food chains operating in a state with anepidemic of obesity and obesity-related disease remain apoor source of protein and are high in fat. Medical pro-fessionals should advise patients of the limited nutritionalvalue of many processed foods, including this product.

References1. United Health Foundation. Americas Health Rankings. Available at:

http://americashealthrankings.org/MS. Accessed April 2, 2013.2. Manta. Jackson, MS Fast-food Restaurant, Chain Companies. Available

at: http://www.manta.com/mb_55_C432C08J_AV5/fast_food_restaurant_chain/jackson_ms. Accessed April 2, 2013.

3. 22 News WWLP.com. Most obese US state bans food portion re-strictions. Available at: http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/health/healthy_living/most-obese-us-state-bans-food-portion-restrictions. AccessedApril 2, 2013.

4. BarbutS.Conveniencebreadedpoultrymeatproductsenewdevelopments.Trends Food Sci Technol. 2012;26:14-20.

5. Fat Secret. Nutrition facts. Available at: http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/. Accessed April 4, 2013.

and eosin, 400X.

The Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets Reads Chicken LittleMaterials and MethodsResultsDiscussionReferences