Chicken nugget

A chicken nugget is a chicken product made from either meat slurry or chicken breasts cut to shape, breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Fast food restaurants typically fry their nuggets in vegetable oil.

The chicken nugget was invented in the 1950s by Robert C. Baker, a food science professor at Cornell University, and published as unpatented academic work. Dr. Baker's innovations made it possible to form chicken nuggets in any shape. McDonald's recipe for Chicken McNuggets was created on commission from McDonald's by Tyson Foods in 1979 and the product was sold beginning in 1980.

Some fast food restaurants have launched vegetarian alternatives. McDonald's served Garden McNuggets made of beans and Swedish fast food restaurant Max Hamburgare offers a dish containing nuggets made of falafel. Quorn also supplies vegetarian chicken style nuggetts.

Health Issues

In random surveys of chicken products across the United States in 2012, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found nearly half the samples to contain fecal matter. In poultry farms and in transportation to slaughter houses, chickens defecate on themselves and stand in their own feces. There is also fecal matter in the intestines. While the slaughter process removes the feathers and intestines, only visible fecal matter is removed. With slaughter lines processing up to 140 birds/minute, safety inspectors do not have adequate time to examine fecal matter.