Everything You Need to Know About the Massive Perdue Chicken Recall
Last week, the USDA made an alarming announcement: The government agency would be recalling 31,703 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products, due to concerns that the poultry had been contaminated by extraneous “pieces of bone material.” The USDA classified this recall as Class 1. According to the USDA website, Class 1 recalls encompass a “health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
This recall includes chicken nuggets, tenders, and strips found in both the freezer and refrigerated aisles at the grocery store. The Food Safety and Inspection Service began investigating contamination of the Perdue chicken products in question following several complaints from consumers.
While there have yet to be any injuries or illness reported as a result of contamination, the FSIS specifically states that consumers who are saving their Perdue chicken in the freezer for later consumption are at the highest risk of adverse health consequences. If you’ve recently purchased any Perdue ready-to-eat products and stored them in the freezer, you should either get a refund at the grocery store or throw the chicken away immediately. Be sure to double check the packaging labels before consuming (or throwing away, for that matter) any Perdue chicken products you suspect might be part of the recall.
The products which contain the bone shards were produced on March 21 of this year. The USDA has supplied the full list of recalled products here, and any consumers with questions about the recall should get in touch with the Perdue Customer Care line.
Just this March, 30,000 pounds of Washington Beef products had to be recalled after the USDA discovered that the meat had been contaminated not by any bacteria, but rather plastic and metal. Most recently, avocados in seven states, including California, Arizona, and Florida, had to be recalled as a precaution over a potential listeria outbreak, though no illnesses were reported.