Texas chicken processor Pilgrim’s Pride has expanded its product recall for a second time. Food safety regulators at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) now say the recall applies to more than 5.17 million pounds of fully cooked chicken because the products may be contaminated with extraneous materials—including plastic, wood, rubber and metal.
A small recall of chicken nuggets reported in April later expanded to include more than 4.5 million pounds of chicken such as fully-cooked strips, breaded patties and popcorn-style products among others
Sold under Green Dragon, Gold Kist Farms, Pierce and Sweet Georgia brands, these items were shipped for institutional use nationwide. According to Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. records, schools have purchased products through the company’s commercial channels.
Federal officials say the problem was first discovered 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. FSIS personnel identified more affected product types and dates of production after investigating additional consumer complaints of foreign material contamination received by the recalling firm.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.
More information on the recalled products can be found here.