Last week, Supreme Poultry was alleged to bring back the chickens back to the shelves even after the expiry date. These allegations led to a further enquiry by Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (DAFF).

The revelations of that enquiry were surprising when it was found that brine injection was currently being used which is strictly against the DAFF regulations. Other than this, some contraventions regarding Meat Safety Act were also found in practice including inadequate process descriptions and keeping and reworking of returned frozen meat.

According to the Agricultural Product Standards Act, tenderization of breast meat by injecting a phosphate solution is only allowed on breast meat of a carcass. The detailed enquiries found that excessive quantities of brine are being injected currently.

The abuse of this technique can also lead to nutrient dilution as demonstrated by the lower protein and energy content of the four commercially available IQF portions. Whereas, brine injection can cause quite high sodium levels, which may lead to even death of the consumer.

The DAFF has issued strict instructions to monitor and administer the Agricultural Product Standards Act. It suggests one possible solution of labeling IQF portions as products containing added salt and sodium.