In cruising around Facebook this afternoon, I came across a post from Melissa Howie on the Billings Customer Service Watchdog page... showing her Costco rotisserie chicken... with GREEN meat inside. EEWWW!

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Is it... safe?

At first glance, green chicken would go to the "Nope, nuh-uh, no way" category for me. However, according to the... Centre for Food Safety, from Hong Kong (I was, strangely, unable to find anything from the CDC about this phenomenon) the...

...unusual green colour in chicken meat is usually due to a condition known as Green Muscle Disease (or Oregon Disease) which is found in commercially raised broiler chickens. In poultry farming, broiler chickens are kept relatively inactive during the growing period.

Ok, so China says it is safe. Do we trust China? No. So, after a bit more digging around on the internet, I came across a study from Mississippi State University about the same issue. Nowhere in this study from the MSU (Mississippi) Extension Office does it state this is safe to eat, just how to prevent it.

Make Your Own Judgement Call

As the only information I could find on this issue is coming from other countries... it has me certainly concerned enough to skip that chicken. I'd return it in a heartbeat, and get something else. Considering it seemingly happens to poorly raised chickens exclusively... I'd point you toward your local ranch owner to find chicken.

What are your thoughts on this GREEN chicken? Would you trust China after the past few years? Let us know on App Chat or on Facebook.

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