Hamburger for dinner? With some brands, expect a few surprises

More than a dozen popular beef and chicken burger brands contain ingredients other than those listed on their packaging, a government study has found.

Soy, chicken skin and bacon were among the surprise additions to 15 of the 35 burgers tested by the consumer protection agency Profeco.

“The way in which they are presented makes it easy to disguise different content . . . in the ground meat,” Profeco said.

Beef burgers sold under the American Beef Steak, Bachoco Trosi Sirloin, Ugasa and Valley Foods brands also contained soy and pork, while pork, beef fat, chicken and soy were mixed into patties made by Griller’s Sirloin.

Three other brands that purported to sell 100% beef burgers also used pork in their product: Great Value Arrachera, Marketside Rib Eye and Marketside Arrachera.

Soriana brand beef burgers also contained soy, chicken and bacon, while Western Grillers patties were made of beef fat, chicken and soy in addition to pure beef cuts. SuCarne Deli and Rica Junior burgers were found to have soy content of 22% and 18% respectively.

Chicken skin was found in chicken burgers made by the Del Día and Pilgrim brands, while Profeco detected that ground chicken ribs were added to Tyson chicken burgers for kids.

Consumers looking for a 100% beef burger should keep an eye out for the following brands: Golden Hills Rib Eye and Arrachera, Bachoco Suprema de Res, Great Value Carne Sirloin and Marketside.

Source: Animal Político (sp), El Universal (sp)