• Always check the sell-by date on the package, especially if you are buying a couple of days ahead. Use chicken within two days of sell by date.
• Always check for pink or reddish liquid in the package which can increase the spoilage rate or impart an off taste to the chicken. A little is normal, a lot is not.
• Always check for the words "Previously Frozen" on the label. If you plan to freeze some for future use you are re-freezing chicken, which can degrade the meat quality and texture
• Ignore the labels that state "No Hormones Used " or "Raised Hormone Free." All chickens are hormone free by law. While not really false advertising, these labels are misleading and may be used to justify a higher price.
• Labels that say "Self Basting" or "Basted" mean that butter, butter substitute or some other solution has been injected into the meat, up to 3% by weight in bone-in poultry, 8% in boneless poultry. I avoid products that contain added ingredients like this. A simple salt water brine, home made, adds flavor and juiciness without additional artificial, fattening or unpronounceable chemicals

Organic? Natural? What the label means

• A chicken can be labeled Organic if 95% of its feed was organic.
• Chicken labeled Made with Organic Ingredients means that 75% of its feed was organic.
• If only one ingredient is organic the label can display that single ingredient, (for instance, Fed Organic Corn) giving a false impression that the chicken consumed only organic feed.
• Only "100% Organic" on the label means exactly what it says. So if this is important to you pay attention to the labeling and buy accordingly.