On April 7, 2016, Pilgrim’s Pride issued a Class 1 recall of about 40,780 pounds of fully cooked chicken nugget products that may have been contaminated with extraneous plastic materials, reported the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) FSIS.
At that time, the recall involved 20-lb. cardboard boxes containing two, 10-lb. clear plastic bags of fully cooked chicken nuggets labeled as “GOLD KIST FARMS Fully Cooked Whole Grain Popcorn Style Chicken Patty Fritters.” The products were produced on October 5, 2015.
The products in the April 7, 2016, recall notice were shipped for Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah and were for institutional use. The recall came about after the firm received several consumer complaints regarding plastic contamination of the chicken nuggets. The firm notified FSIS personnel of the issue on April 6, 2016.
Expanded recall issued on April 26, 2016
On Tuesday afternoon, an expanded Class 1 High Health Risk recall was issued by Pilgrim’s Pride that now includes various chicken products. The approximately 4,568,080 pounds of fully cooked chicken products may be contaminated with extraneous materials, according to the USDA’s FSIS.
The scope of this expanded recall is concerning because the extraneous materials that may be in the breaded chicken products include plastic, wood, rubber and metal pieces. The products were produced on various dates between Aug. 21, 2014, to March 1, 2016.
The packages include several varieties of breaded chicken products, including “Gold Kist,” “70340 Pierce Chicken Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken Tenderloins,” several varieties of “Sweet Georgia Brand,” and “Gold Kist Farms.” The products were shipped for institutional use nationwide, including schools and other facilities.
After the initial recall on April 7, FSIS inspectors identified more affected product types and dates of production after investigating additional consumer complaints of foreign material contamination received by the recalling firm.
For a more detailed description of the product production dates and carton and package codes, go HERE.
