Suzie's Tips ... Delicious Food and Keeping it Safe

Poulty Livers and Proper Color Normal poultry livers range in color from tan or yellow to deep mahogany red. A yellow liver indicates a fattier liver. The color variation depends on what the bird ate last and has nothing to do with the age or health of the bird. Occasionally a liver may be a shade of green. Green livers are condemned at the slaughter plant and are rarely seen by consumers. The green coloring is due to bile leaching out from the gallbladder and into the liver. Bile is a yellow or greenish fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Its function in the body is to aid in the emulsification and absorption of fats. Green livers are not harmful if eaten but are removed and condemned in the slaughter plant for aesthetic reasons. Sometimes the gallbladder or a portion of it remains attached to the liver. It looks like a "green pill". In the plant the gallbladders are removed by hand or machine and occasionally one is missed inadvertently. It can be removed in the home and the liver consumed with no problems. It is safe to eat the meat of poultry regardless of the color of the liver it contains. Remember the giblets are not packaged with the original bird. Hope that helps. See you here at the food blog tomorrow. Until then, Suzie Posted: Monday 30th May 2005, 1:35 AM

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