Chicken producers debate 'natural' label

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal officials are considering changing guidelines for labeling chicken after some producers argued that poultry injected with salt, water and other ingredients shouldn't be promoted as "natural."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had maintained that if chicken wasn't flavored artificially or preserved with chemicals, it could carry the word "natural" on the package.

But the agency agreed to take another look at its policy after some producers, politicians and health advocates noted that about one-third of chicken sold in the U.S. was injected with additives that could represent up to 15 percent of the meat's weight, doubling or tripling its sodium content.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service plans to issue new proposed rules this fall.