Today’s guest blogger is Carol Gardin, Marketing and Communications Manager at Maple Lodge Farms. She holds a BASc (Hons.) from the University of Guelph in Clinical Nutrition. For more information on the company or their products, please visit www.maplelodgefarms.com Crispy and delightfully golden on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside – but just what are chicken nuggets made of?! Good parents everywhere, the answer is better than you may think! Chicken nuggets, which come in a wide variety of shapes (including dinosaurs!) are actually made with entirely white breast meat. Long-rumoured to be made of that highly misunderstood and generally ill-regarded mechanically separated meat – many parents completely shun, or begrudgingly serve, these delicious little morsels fearing for the nutritional well-being of their children. So, how are they made? Generally, the white meat is coarsely ground or cut-up, blended with a variety of spices and then formed into shapes. A breaded coating is then applied and finally, they are fried. In most cases, all you have to do is heat and serve them, making them a convenient and tasty household favourite. In fact, chicken nuggets can be a nutritious after-school snack or be served as part of a well-balanced meal. The average serving of chicken nuggets (4 – 5 pieces, or approx 100g) provides 230 calories, 12g of fat and 13g of protein. They also provide approx. 10% of the daily requirement of iron. As with everything in life, it is all about variety and balance. To make sure that you are serving a well-balanced meal, be sure to include the other three food groups along with your nuggets – a couple of servings of fruits and vegetables, a serving of grains and a serving of milk and alternatives. And most of all, leave the guilt behind and enjoy! So now that we know what chicken nuggets are made of, what about the question of MSM – otherwise known as ‘mechanically separated meat’? Mechanically separated meat is a form of meat that is used to make products such as bologna, meat loaves (the type you find in a deli counter) and hot dogs. It has long been the target of concerned consumers, who believe that it contains anything from eyeballs to more unmentionable parts of the anatomy or that the entire chicken is crushed and put through a sieve. The truth of the matter is that MSM is made under strict quality control guidelines and procedures and undergoes rigorous testing to ensure that it is both safe and nutritious. There is also strict regulation on the contents of mechanically separated meat. Contrary to the misinformation that is rampant out there, only dressed chicken (a dressed chicken is the whole one you would buy in a grocery store – it is completely cleaned and ready to prepare) or parts of dressed chickens can be used to make mechanically separated chicken. In fact, it can’t even contain kidneys or added skin without listing that on the ingredient label. MSM is made by removing the remaining meat still attached to the bone after various parts (wings, breasts and legs) have been removed earlier in the processing. In this way, the production of MSM prevents perfectly good meat from being wasted – a fact that we should all appreciate! The process works by using equipment which applies pressure to separate the meat from the bones. The equipment uses the differing resistance of bones and meat to pass through small openings in screens which results in a type of meat puree (something akin to the texture of pate).  This “meat puree” is then used to make various ready-to-eat meats such as deli meats and hot dogs. These are all economical and tasty sources of protein to be enjoyed in moderation as part of a well-balanced meal. So fear MSM no more! And, the next time you hear outrageous comments about the contents of “chicken dogs”, let them know the facts or send them here to the experts at the blog!