Chicken and poultry products continue to grow and build on their popularity as a staple component of the local diet. They offer ample nutrition to consumers at a price which is substantially lower than other popular alternatives such as fish and meat, while still fulfilling the country’s dietary requirements. Hence the consumer’s tendency to look for products of high quality and freshness is inevitable. Among the many ways of measuring the quality of a food item, judging it based on its colour is both common and crucial.

Similarly, ‘Golden Yellow Chicken’ is a product that is being greatly misunderstood in the local market as a result of the distinct yellowish hue around the product. In fact, around the world this distinguishing feature is considered a prominent indicator of quality and freshness.

According to Dr. Krishanthi Premaratne, a Food Safety Expert and Senior Lecturer at the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, the ‘yellow or golden’ colour of the chicken is mainly due to the presence of a natural colourant named Carotenoids. Corn is a primary natural source of provitamin A carotenoids that have been used in chicken feed over the past few decades by many highly-reputed poultry farms mainly in the US, United Kingdom, Australia and India.

Birds as a whole are unable to produce Carotenoids in their body. Thus, it enters their body through the food they consume. Yellow corn and maize as chicken feed produce ample amounts of provitamin A Carotenoids as well as a precursor of Vitamin A and they are stored in high concentration in the skin, liver, fat and yolk of the egg. This natural glow is not just meant to be aesthetically pleasing but packs a nutritious punch. 

A vital part of raising chicken involves properly feeding them. A corn and soybean-based diet consists of high volumes of  carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and mineral supplements which help regulate normal growth, increase bone health, optimise kidney functioning, maintain a good heart rate and act as a vital source of antioxidants for chicken.

The corn-fed Golden Yellow chicken is an all-in–one product that is ideal for the daily dietary needs of a consumer. It delivers nutrition, taste, quality and convenience.

Irish poultry experts as well as US, British, Australian and Indian poultry professionals have proven that the golden hue produced in corn-fed chicken is simply a measurement of quality. They stated that using corn as chicken feed boosts its taste and gives an exceptionally succulent roasted flavour to it once it is cooked. The effect of the corn feed does not only show in the case of raw chicken but is present in the egg yolk as well. It is a well-established fact that the yellower the egg yolk, the more nutritious it is.

“Golden Chicken has been one of the best kept secrets in the culinary world for the longest time. For the trained palate, chicken raised on a diet of corn is easily distinguishable. It just melts in your mouth and the satisfaction of serving your clients the best quality chicken while making their dining experience healthier, safer and nutritious is indescribable,” Dr. Krishanthi explained further. 

Crysbro is a home-grown company and a forerunner in the poultry industry. It is synonymous with taste and quality and takes pride in being one of the pioneers in promoting corn-fed golden yellow chicken. It is opposed to the use of antibiotic growth promoters that the government is currently taking steps to phase out under the National Strategic Plan for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in Sri Lanka. Crysbro Holdings has introduced a product to the Sri Lankan poultry industry, the ‘Golden Yellow Chicken’ which is healthier and contains the right amount of nutritional proteins.

Established in 1972 with just 100 chicks and a vision of becoming a market leader in quality, freshness and innovation, Crysbro has grown at a steady pace and in the decades since has emerged as Sri Lanka’s first and most sophisticated fully vertically integrated poultry producer with operations spanning grandparent and parent farms, hatcheries, broilers and feed mills.

This thriving ‘Farm-to-Fork’ concept has been at the core of the company’s success and in turn has provided unprecedented support to numerous stakeholders including direct and indirect employees, outgrowers, domestic maize farmers and ultimately the Sri Lankan consumer.