Andrew Simpson says he was surprised that he could drain more than 500 millilitres of liquid from two kilograms of Countdown's boneless and skinless chicken breast.

One home cook has taken his concerns over excess water added to supermarket chicken to the Commerce Commission.

Andrew Simpson submitted a complaint on Sunday after he drained 500 millilitres of liquid from 2kg of cooked boneless and skinless chicken breast bought online from Countdown, a supermarket chain owned and operated by Progressive Enterprises.

Simpson said the company was profiting from the chicken's extra water weight and customers were not getting a fair deal.

SUPPLIED No extra ingredients can be seen on the packaging on the chicken that Simpson bought online from Countdown.

His submission said: "With 25 per cent additional, unusable substance in the packaging I feel this is a clear violation of their [Countdown's] responsibilities as a retailer."

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The commission said it had received Simpson's complaint but it had not yet decided if it would investigate the claim.

Countdown spokeswoman Kate Porter said its chicken suppliers confirmed they were not adding liquid to its fresh products.

Simpson said that was hard to believe given the "surprising" amount of liquid that came from the chicken he cooked in a cast iron skillet with olive oil and salt.

Consumer New Zealand researcher Jessica Wilson said supermarkets could lawfully inject chicken with water, but it had to be added to the product's ingredients list.

If water was not listed on the packet of chicken that Simpson bought, it would be a breach of consumer rights, Wilson said.

In a photo Simpson took of the packet of the chicken he bought, chicken is the only ingredient that is visibly specified. He said he could not guarantee that no other ingredients were listed on the packet, but if they were, it was not clear.

Wilson said it was difficult to comment on this case without seeing the packaging herself.

Simpson took to Countdown Supermarket's Facebook page in July, notifying the supermarket of his ongoing issue. But his wife continued to buy meat from the supermarket chain because its online delivery service was convenient for the parents of two toddlers.

"Now I am going to have to go out of my way to buy it from a butcher."

Simpson made a second post on the supermarket's Facebook page on Sunday with a photo of the drained liquid. He said he was shocked by the hundreds of responses it had received.

He said he just wanted decent quality chicken for a decent price.

Earlier this year the commission warned Inghams Enterprises and Tegel Foods to stop misleading customers by adding marinade and stuffing to the total weight of its chicken sold.

Consumer New Zealand has not received any complaints over liquid added to supermarket chicken.

Countdown has contacted Simpson directly to investigate his complaint.