Experts warn of heritage turkey fakes
Marketing ploys used for other birds may be fooling consumers
This week, as American families carve into an estimated 45 million turkeys, a very, very small fraction with very, very expensive tastes will share a rare and much-praised heritage turkey.
Unlike the commercial breed-the Broad Breasted White, selectively bred for an extremely ample bosom-heritage birds are smaller, grow slower, and boast more robust flavor. Their lineage dates to the 1800s, and unlike their industrially farmed cousins, they can and do reproduce naturally.
Gourmands are seeking out and spending $10 per pound and up for pedigreed turkeys even as choices in the turkey aisle seem to expand every year, from the Butterball to antibiotic-free, to free-range, to organic-all of which are the Broad Breasted Whites. Shoppers cite better animal welfare enjoyed by breeds not hobbled by giant breasts, the need for biodiversity and (not least) flavor.
Experts pose a warning: Beware of impostors. “We’re faced with the issue that we knew was coming — fake heritage turkeys,” said Roger Mastrude, founder of the Heritage Turkey Foundation. Allegations of fakery range from partial — probably heritage birds that lack proper American Poultry Association certification — to intentionally misleading marketing ploys such as the term “heirloom.”
Two years ago the American Poultry Association, the country’s oldest livestock organization, started certifying breeder flocks as “standard bred” if they met the body’s standards of perfection for any of its eight recognized breeds, including Standard Bronze and Narragansett. Licensed flock inspectors check for physical requirements, such as weight, and ascertain that no more than 2 percent of the birds have such growth defects as a deformed back or crooked keel bone that would affect market value. Only two farmers have passed muster.
“[American Poultry Association] is the only organization in America whose endorsement means anything,” said Patrick Martins of Heritage Foods USA, which sells meats from old breeds of livestock in an effort to conserve them. He buys every bird that Frank Reese of Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch in Lindsborg, Kan., will sell him, which Reese estimates will be about 7,000 this year. The second APA-certified flock is raised by Michelle Oswald of Old Time Farm, who sold 30 birds this year in Pittsburgh farmers markets.
“We only buy from Frank because he’s the only one we’re sure has 100 percent heritage genetics,” Martins said. The largest option, 20 to 22 pounds, is selling online for $219. Last Thanksgiving, the average turkey cost $1.42 per pound.
Use of the word “heritage,” however, has been popular for more than a decade, and many retailers sell birds under the label. Neither Martins nor the American Poultry Association assert that only associationcertified birds are heritage, just that it’s the only way to know for sure.
For example, D’Artagnan, a purveyor of high-end and rare meats, sells the Standard Bronze and Bourbon Red breeds, with the larger, 12-pound birds listed at $214.99. Chief Executive Officer Ariane Daguin said the turkeys are not American Poultry Association-certified but come through “privileged partnerships” with farmers in Lancaster County, Pa. She agreed that the term is misappropriated at times but said American Poultry Association certification is unnecessary: The Agriculture Department, which requires documentation for heritage poultry claims, “has done a pretty good job thereand I don’t say that often.”
But the word “heritage” has meaning only if it comes right before the word “turkey,” Daguin said. “There are some people who sell turkeys from ‘heritage farmers,’ and that doesn’t mean anything.”
Whole Foods sells non-American Poultry Association certified heritage turkeys, bought from two well-known and respected farms, White Oak Pastures and Pitman Family Farms, for around $6 per pound.