Turkey Terms

A few common labels and what they actually mean, which is not much. I hope you are enjoying the leftovers from your premium, young, fresh, free range turkey, with no hormones added.

• Young: Most commercial turkeys are killed at 16 to 18 weeks, so this is mostly meaningless. The USDA does not define “young” for turkeys and only requires the label of “mature” or “yearling” for turkeys that lived more than a year.
• Fresh: This means the turkey was never frozen.
• No Hormones Added: Mostly meaningless as commercial turkeys, and other poultry are not given growth hormones, per USDA rules.
• Premium: Meaningless as premium has no USDA definition.
• Free range: Often misleading, as it means the animal was given “access to the outdoors.” In most cases, the animal is still raised in standard, crowded cages.