eligible for the American Heart Association’s seal of approval. However, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine recently conducted hearings exploring health risks associated with high salt intake, including testimony that addressed the practice of plumping. Health experts have weighed in on the issue. In a June 22, 2009 Los Angeles Times article, Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University, noted that “the practice of saltwater plumping [adds] unnecessary salt to people’s diets, [and] it also increases the water weight of chicken.” Labeling Poultry producers, consumer advocacy groups and government officials are debating how plumped chicken products should be labeled. Under current USDA regulations, plumped chicken may still carry an “All-Natural” or “100% Natural” label. Plumped chicken is commonly labeled as natural and “enhanced with up to 15% chicken broth.” Critics of the practice argue that 70% of consumers think chicken labeled “natural” should not contain saltwater. Proponents of plumping say that their packaging already states that the chicken has been injected and that the enhanced chicken is sold to meet consumer demand. In South Africa, controversy over individually quick-frozen chicken pieces being injected with up to 50% brine content, has resulted in government regulation requiring IQF chicken to be labeled with brine content. IQF chicken is a cheap staple food and manufacturers were accused of misleading the poor. Media coverage A number of U.S. poultry producers have addressed the practice in advertising campaigns. In March 2009, West Coast poultry producer Foster Farms and their advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners launched a campaign centered on "Say No To Plumping." TV commercials in English and Spanish featured the long-running Foster “Imposters” discussing the effects of plumping. The "Say No To Plumping" campaign won the 2010 Gold Effie Award in advertising. Sanderson Farms previously ran an advertising campaign on TV and outdoor billboards drawing consumer attention to saltwater injected chicken. Plumping gained attention from the Wall Street Journal in early May 2009. The issue has also been covered in the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, the Baton Rouge Advocate and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah. References Associated Press - Chicken producers debate 'natural' label Poultry products Consumer fraud