What Does 100% White Meat Chicken Really Mean?

The debate over white meat chicken versus dark meat chicken is always raging on. That doesn't just refer to the shade of the meat, either, as both have different nutritional values. White meat from chicken wings or the chicken's back and breast is leaner and notably higher in protein. Meanwhile, dark meat from the chicken's thighs is fattier, and because our taste buds really like fatty foods, it's often considered more flavorful. Still, there's a time and place for each style of chicken, and foods like chicken nuggets can go either way if you're buying frozen ones or making chicken nuggets at home.

If you really want leaner chicken, it helps to stick with just light or white meat, and you want to look for chicken dishes that mention using 100% white meat chicken. Is there any chance those contain dark meat, too? According to Title 9, Chapter 3 of the U.S. Federal Code of Regulations, there's no exaggerating allowed with this: If a product's packaging or ingredients list specifies that it's white or light meat, it legally has to contain 100% white meat. A product can be called "mostly" white meat if it contains at least 66% white meat, while a chicken product that says it has "natural proportions" will have about 50% to 65% white meat, and the rest will be dark meat. 

Even if a box of chicken nuggets says it contains 100% white meat, it can still contain other parts of the chicken. So long as the meat is all white. If a company says its food is made with white meat, you might be getting lots of other non-meat ingredients. For example, your average chicken nugget may say it's 100% breast meat, and it can still be filled with chicken fat, blood vessels, and even ground-up bones. The actual meat, however, is all chicken breast. Plus, some chicken products that specify white meat can still be made from ground-up chicken, which uses different cuts — these are often less popular cuts that don't sell as well on their own. However, these legally have to be light meats only if the packaging claims white meat.

That happens in fast food, too. McDonald's proudly claims that it switched its McNuggets recipe to a healthier white meat-only recipe in 2003. McDonald's denies that it uses that infamous pink slime in McNuggets or any of its other foods, and instead uses boneless white meat from chicken thighs, tenderloins, and ribs, which is ground up into a paste and shaped into McNuggets. To put your mind at ease, that slime is mechanically separated meat — for chicken, this means using a specialized process to separate chicken meat from bones — and any food that uses that has to mention it separately on the packaging.