It’s easy to tell the difference when you taste it, but what’s the REAL difference between the all natural chicken we feature at Blue Ribbon Foods  and the poultry you might find at a typical grocery store?

Several years ago, the demand for chicken became so high that the poultry industry could not produce chicken fast enough to satisfy the market need. To handle the increased demand, producers actually changed the genetics of the modern chicken, reducing the time needed from hatch to market to just forty days.  These changes did save time and money, but at the expense of taste, texture, and other culinary qualities.

Now, with the market for chicken as high as ever, typical commercial chicken facilities house up to twenty-thousand birds at a time.  These operations are known as “solid wall houses,” because they are completely enclosed and ventilated with high velocity fans and lit with artificial lighting.

In contrast, Blue Ribbon Foods  features chicken that are raised in a true free range environment.  These free range birds are raised in houses that hold 60% fewer animals, giving them more space to move.  The buildings are open-sided, allowing for natural light and ventilation and open access to the outdoors.

Unlike typical chickens, these birds eat an all-grain diet with no animal by-products, and are never fed hormones, antibiotics, or growth stimulants.  Further, they are given an additional five to six weeks to grow to full natural maturity.

Regarding food safety, Blue Ribbon Foods  again features a superior process. Typically, chicken is cleaned and frozen in a communal water bath, a process that promotes cross contamination.  This method allows chlorinated water to be absorbed by the bird, therefore, altering its taste. The additional water also increases its market weight, so it can be sold for a higher price.

Blue Ribbon Foods  chicken is humanely processed and cleaned in a USDA inspected facility, where each chicken is individually air chilled. This special system prevents cross-contamination, making our chickens not only safer, but tastier to eat.