Foreign Matter Food Contamination Injures 3, USDA Announces New Recall

Tyson Foods recalls almost 12 million pounds of frozen chicken strips due to possible foreign matter contamination. The USDA’s FSIS issued a statement that the recall is an expansion of a March 21st, 2019 recall that identified 69,000 pounds of chicken strips. FSIS discovered the problem after receiving six consumer complaints of metal pieces found in the products. Three of these people say they suffered oral injuries. Health officials recommend that people with an injury or illness see a healthcare provider.

May 2019 Tyson Chicken Strips Recall

Tyson produced the recalled chicken strips between October 8th, 2018, and March 9th, 2019. The products have the number “P-7221” on the back of their packages with “Use By Dates” of October 1st, 2019, through March 7th, 2020.  In addition to Tyson, the expanded list of recalled products includes:

  • Ahold
  • Kirkwood
  • Best Choice
  • Food Lion
  • Giant Eagle
  • Great Value
  • Hannaford
  • Meijer
  • Publix
  • Sparetime

Other Foreign Matter Recalls

In March of 2019, FSIS issued a best practices guideline to help the meat and poultry industry respond to consumer complaints associated with adulterated and misbranded products, particularly reports of foreign matter contamination. Since 2012, establishments have been required to report to FSIS within 24 hours when they receive or ship adulterated products that are in commerce. The new guideline states that a product “containing foreign materials is adulterated even when a physical food safety hazard is not present.”

Foreign matter recalls often occur when a consumer finds pieces of a material such as glass, plastic, or wood in a USDA-regulated food product. Since the start of 2019, there has been 12 foreign matter recalls of food products regulated by the USDA:

  1. JBS Plainwell Ground Beef 
  2. J&J Snack Foods Stuffed Sandwiches 
  3. AdvancePierre Foods Frozen Beef Patties 
  4. North Country Smokehouse Ready-To-Eat Sausages 
  5. Tyson Foods Frozen Chicken Strips
  6. Procesadora La Hacienda Corned Beef 
  7. Productos La Aguadillana Breaded Chicken Patties
  8. Washington Beef Ground Beef Chubs
  9. Sahlen Packing Ready-To-Eat Deli Ham
  10. Bellisio Foods Frozen Pork Entrees
  11. Johnsonville Ground Pork Patties
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