Florida Hit by Chicken Recall Over Metal Contamination

Photo for illustrative purposesPhoto byCanva

When having a meal, is there anything more unpleasant than taking a bite of food, only to find a piece of metal hidden inside? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a ‘High - Class I’ recall on Friday, August 16, 2024, for some of Perdue Foods LLC’s ready-to-eat, frozen chicken products due to concern over contamination.

This release came after consumers complained about finding “metal wire embedded” in the chicken. In response, Perdue Foods LLC, based out of Perry, Georgia, has to recall about 167,171 pounds of chicken for potentially being contaminated with “foreign material, specifically metal”.

The recalled products are as follows:

• “Perdue Simply Smart Organics Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets” 22 ounce (1.38 pound) plastic, vacuum-sealed bags
• “Perdue Chicken Breast Tenders” 29 ounce (1.81 pound) plastic, vacuum-sealed bags
• “Butcherbox Organic Chicken Breast Nuggets” 22 ounce (1.38 pound) plastic, vacuum-sealed bags
  

The affected products were made on March 23, 2024, and have a “best if used by” date of March 23, 2025, featured on the back of each package. Each affected package also has the establishment number “P-33944”.

The potentially contaminated meat was retailed nationwide, including in Florida, and was also shipped directly to consumers. This brand is sold at stores like Walmart, Target, and Publix.

At the time of the report, the USDA stated that no one had experienced an adverse reaction as a result of consuming the products and recommended that if anyone has any concerns about an illness or injury, then that person should get in touch with a healthcare provider.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) believes that some of the contaminated products may still be in consumers’ freezers. FSIS urges consumers to throw out or return the affected Perdue Foods LLC products to the original place they were purchased from.

If you have questions about this recall, you can contact Perdue Consumer Care at 1-866-866-3703. If you have questions about general food safety, you can call the USDA’s toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send an email to MPHotline@usda.gov.

Otherwise, to report an issue regarding an egg, poultry, or meat product, you can access the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System anytime here.

Article by Ema Tibbetts