Bumble Bee Chicken Salad Recall: Plastic Contamination

About 72,000 pounds of Bumble Bee Lunch on the Run canned chicken salad have been recalled due to potential contamination with pieces of hard plastic. 

The Bumble Bee chicken salad recall was announced on December 5 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) after consumers complained about finding pieces of plastic in their canned chicken salad. There have been no reports of injuries or illnesses connected to the food contamination.

The recall affects 8.2-ounce packages of “Bumble Bee Lunch on the Run Chicken Salad Complete Lunch Kit” with a “Best-by” date of 07/11. The kits have a 2.9-ounce can of chicken salad, crackers, mixed fruit, a cookie and a spoon. It is labeled “Mixed and Ready to Eat.”

The recall also includes 3.5-ounce packages of “Bumble Bee Chicken Salad with Crackers” with a Best-by” date of 01/12 or 02/12. Those kits have a 2.9-ounce can of chicken salad and crackers and are labeled “Ready to Eat.”

Both products have an establishment number of P-169 in the USDA mark of inspection and a lot code of 0225XXQBC. The products were produced by Bumble Bee Foods and The Suter Company, Inc. in Sycamore, Illinois between August 14 and August 28, 2010, and were distributed nationwide.

Any consumers who purchased the recalled canned chicken salad seeking a product refund or with questions should contact The Suter Company at 1-800-507-7828.

This is the third major recall of a chicken product this year due to plastic contamination. In July, a recall of just under 100,000 pounds of Wal-Mart frozen chicken nuggets were recalled due to pieces of plastic found in the nuggets. That recall came just a month after nearly 110,000 pounds of Marketside barbecue chicken pizza was recalled due to the same problem.

While the pieces pose a potential choking hazard for consumers, none resulted in any known injuries.