Why does chicken shine in the dark?

[diana_eva]

So today my lightbulb blew up in the kitchen and I didn't bother to change it. I was about to put some chicken in the oven when I noticed that one of the chicken legs was glowing in the dark. I had used a pack bought in the supermarket, sealed in a plastic box, and one separate chicken leg left over from previous day. That one separate leg was glowing strongly and I couldn't find any explanation about it. I kept it in a plastic bag so my theory is it has to do with that bag I had it wrapped into. But interesting nevertheless, kids played with the radioactive leg for a couple of hours before we decided it's best to throw it away :) For what is worth, washing it washed the glow away, but still didn't feel comfortable mixing it into our food after using it as a night light.

 

 

Any theories?

[kenrexford]

It's people. Chicken legs are made out of people. They're making our food out of people. Next thing they'll be breeding us like chicken for food. You've gotta tell them. You've gotta tell them!

[Antrax]

I really think that's a very Romania-centric phenomenon.

[diana_eva]

I really think that's a very Romania-centric phenomenon.

 

Not sure sure about that, unless this guy is also Romanian:

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120811041159AAzPIrU

 

Someone else asked about it, but only got one answer -> meat should not glow. Duh, thanks

[Vampyr]

This tasty snack might go well with the chicken.

[mike777]

There are reports that antibiotics make the chicken glow in the dark.

 

[Vampyr]

There are reports that antibiotics make the chicken glow in the dark.

 

Lots of organisms can be made to glow in the dark if their genes are spliced with ones from jellyfish.

[diana_eva]

So I have to finetune my googling (and English) skills. I searched for meat "shining", instead of "glowing". As Mike suggests, seems this is related to chickens being injected with antibiotics. Sill unclear to me if this is harmless or not (the night-light-chicken-leg was leftover from yesterday, so we ate a good meal of battery chicken the day before).

 

I found this "GREAT ANSWER - Professionally Researched" that made me consider I might have thrown away the good leg and kept the bad ones lol:

 

Chicken meat that glows in the dark or in the refrigerator may indicate the presence of the light-producing bacteria Pseudomonas phosphorescens. This particular bacteria is common in meat products and is harmless to humans, according the Western Australia Department of Health. According to the book "Meat Hygiene", the glow fades as the meat begins to deteriorate, which is when it becomes unsafe to eat. Until that happens, you can simply trim the surface of the meat and prepare it as usual.

 

[Aberlour10]

what can I say, Shine On You Crazy Chicken http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif

[Vampyr]

so we ate a good meal of battery chicken the day before).

 

Where would you have obtained a battery chicken?

[Antrax]

Oh my God you're right, it's spreading: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93909

Here's a possibly-related followup: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/156486/

[diana_eva]

I don't feel sick and the rest of the family seems fine too. Just thought it was funny and weird.

 

I bought that chicken from the local market. One of the farms around Bucharest has a permanent stand there, sells any chicken product one can imagine and they are very popular. It's not even cheaper than what I'd normally buy from a supermarket - the only reason I buy from them is because their products are always fresh.

[hrothgar]

Chicken hearts is good food...

Get a bottle of cheap red wine, throw in a head of garlic, some onions, a lemon, some thyme, some paprika

 

Bring to a boil and burn off the alcohol and let cool

Add a dash of sesame oil and marinade the chicken hearts for a few hours, and then thread onto skewers

 

 

MMMMM

[FM75]

Bioluminescence

http://books.google....escence&f=false

 

There are also bioluminescent fungi.

[onoway]

Does seem a little odd that this "natural" phenomenon is just now showing up. Australia was also one of the first to approve the use of "meat glue" that is used to glue meat scraps together to make filets and roasts etc. indistinguishable from the real thing. Technology is a wonderful thing.

[blackshoe]

"Soylent green is people!"

 

:-)

[diana_eva]

Well according to FM75's link it was seen in 1667 and I doubt the chicken were injected with antibiotics back then :D

 

I'll go with the natural phenomenon for now based on local farming tradition. Plenty natural food in the area to raise organic chicken, and fierce competition. Anyone who'd try something silly would be killed off the market immediately IMO, at least in this area where there are so many chicken farms that we buy chicken at shameful prices :)

[helene_t]

I might have thrown away the good leg and kept the bad ones

How many bridge players does it take to swap a chicken leg? :)