Tom Super of the National Chicken Council discusses trends in dark meat.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – During a conference call in May, Tyson Foods Inc. President and CEO Donnie Smith remarked that Tyson has reduced exports of dark chicken meat by 50 percent in the last five years because the company is using more of it in other products. Tyson is not alone among poultry companies in that regard, as more dark chicken meat, from thighs to chicken sausages, is showing up in the meat case to appease consumers’ demand.

Lawrence Aylward, editor of MEAT+POULTRY, recently spoke with Tom Super, the vice president of communications for the National Chicken Council, to discuss dark chicken meat trends, including the impact that politics, avian influenza and economics are having on dark chicken meat exports.