Very few products stay consistent over time. Company logos may change, ingredient lists may adapt to changing customer demand, or packaging may vary to be more eco-friendly.
In some cases, these changes are welcome. For example, in 2015, Kraft removed artificial preservatives, flavors, and dyes from its mac and cheese, a decision that was met with enthusiasm from customers.
In other cases, buyers’ reactions range from neutral to negative, such as the documented consumer anger in response to the many companies reducing the amount of product in an item without lowering the price.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming that Jimmy Dean changed the recipe for its sausage biscuits. People aren’t too happy about it.
What happened to Jimmy Dean Sausage Biscuits?
In a video with over 477,000 views, TikTok user Lee (@o_g_deez) explains why your Jimmy Dean Sausage Biscuit might not taste quite the same as it used to.
“So this is Jimmy Dean, synonymous with pork sausage, correct?” she says, showing a box of Jimmy Dean Sausage Biscuits.
Responding to those who say the meat “tasted funny,” she explains, “It’s not just pork sausage, it’s pork and chicken—mechanically separated chicken at that, which is far less expensive than pork.”
“In August of 2014, Tyson Food Company, yes, the chicken company, completed their acquisition of Jimmy Dean’s sausage,” she continues. “Based on my research, this is when mechanically separated chicken entered the chat.”
While she says that the sausage used to be made of 100% pork, it is now a mix of pork and chicken. This contrasts the generic store brand, which is still made of 100% pork.
Is this true?
According to the Jimmy Dean website, it is true that the sandwiches now contain mechanically separated chicken. It is also true that Tyson purchased Hillshire Brands, the company that owns Jimmy Dean, in 2014.
However, it’s unclear if these two events are as linked as the TikToker implies.
For example, an archive of the Jimmy Dean website shows that the sandwiches were still all-pork in 2017, though the website shows that the chicken had been added by 2020.
Why the company decided to add chicken is uncertain, though, as noted by the TikToker, pork is generally more expensive than chicken, meaning that there may have been a cost incentive for the company to add chicken to their meat.
@o_g_deez Here’s why Jimmy Dean RTE (ready to eat) sausage biscuits and the like, have lower quality at a higher price #foodie #foodtok #fypシ #foodtiktok #fyp #sausage #breakfast #millennial #millennialsoftiktok #biscuits #90s @H-E-B ♬ original sound – The Food Hacker
‘Thought it was just age.’
In the comments section, many users noted that they were well aware of the change in taste, though they didn’t know it may have been due to an alteration to the ingredient list.
“Seriously, as someone who grew up eating a lot of processed, frozen and fast food…nothing now tastes the same,” wrote a user. “Thank you for exposing this. Thought it was just age…lol. It’s not!!”
“ONLY thing that tastes the same to me is SPAM,” noted another. “Thank goodness.”
“They keep feeding us potted meat and hot dogs in different forms,” declared a further TikToker.
The Daily Dot reached out to Tyson via email and Lee via Instagram and TikTok DM.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
