Myths about yummy chicken nuggets & TBHQ

Chicken Nuggets may be our favorite food due to its taste, meaty texture and fried nature, but we all know that chicken nuggets don’t contain the only boneless chicken pieces, rather it is made by mixing a variety of ingredients like modified food starch, salt, bleached wheat flour, hydrogenated soybean oil, TBHQ, etc.

Many research columns claim that chicken nuggets are fatty and unhealthy.

The main reason for the concern is the usage of Hydrogenated soybean oil which is used for the deep-frying.

When the same oil is repeatedly used for the deep-frying of nuggets, then chances of oxidation of oil increases. So, the oil looks brownish, and also other unwanted & harmful substances are generated simultaneously.

To avoid the auto-oxidation of the oil, antioxidant like TBHQ is used.

TBHQ stands for tertiary butylhydroquinone, and it is a phenol. Few claim that TBHQ in nugget frying oil causes nausea, vomiting, etc. but it can’t be said with a confirmation.

Fig- TBHQ

Also, TBHQ is allowed to be used in foods as a food additive, and in oil, it can be added until the maximum concentration of 0.02%. So, usage of TBHQ under limits can be safe. However, it can’t be denied that nuggets are fatty foods, so they are unhealthy too.

Many tests are done against the chicken nuggets. For example, see this video that claims Mcnuggets melt on storage, i.e. the claim is that the chicken content is negligible.

But, when the same test was done by a reputed Scientist, then the nuggets were as intact as they were on the first day. So, no one knows who is correct and nothing can be proved from it.

So, despite many rumors against chicken nuggets, it is better to avoid these rumors, yet, it may be a healthier choice to consume chicken nuggets less often🙂!!