WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Buying chicken that has been plumped up with saltwater, chicken stock or seaweed extract is costing consumers — and possibly putting their health at risk, a coalition of poultry producers and consumers contends.

Most people don’t know that much of the poultry sold in the U.S. contains 15 percent (by weight) saltwater, costing an estimated $1.50 a package, said Ira Brill, spokesman for Livingston, Calif.-based Foster Farms, a member of the Truthful Labeling Coalition. That $1.50 paid for water is based on a 3-pound package of boneless skinless chicken breasts priced at $3.33 a pound.

For their part, big poultry processors call chicken with additives “enhanced.” In blind taste tests, four out of five consumers favored the juicier enhanced products over the non-enhanced, said Ray Atkinson, spokesman for Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride.

But those consumers that want to avoid saltwater-injected chicken can do so simply by checking the label’s fine print, which states something like, “Natural chicken broth ingredients: Chicken broth, salt, carrageenan,” or “Enhanced with up to 15 percent chicken broth.”

Natural chicken should not have more than 70 milligrams of sodium per 4-ounce serving, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises.