Marketside BBQ Chicken Pizza Recall Over Discovery of Pieces of Plastic

About 109,800 pounds of Marketside barbecue chicken pizza products by Great Kitchens, Inc. have been recalled because they may be contaminated with small pieces of plastic that could pose a chocking hazard or cause other injuries for consumers. 

The BBQ chicken pizza recall was announced on June 25 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) after the manufacturer discovered the foreign matter in the food during the production process. The FSIS indicates that there have been no reports of consumers finding plastic bits in products that made it to store shelves.

The recall affects the following Great Kitchens, Inc. BBQ chicken pizza products, sold under the Marketside label:

• 14-pound, 4-ounce cases of “Marketside, 16” BBQ Chicken Pizza, 8-16” Pizzas” with case codes of 11016611, 11016621, 11016711, and 11016721
•  28.5-ounce “Marketside, 16” BBQ Recipe, Thin Crust, Chicken Pizza.”

All of the products were shipped in boxes with an establishment number of P-2439B inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were produced on June 15 and 16, 2010 and shipped nationwide.

In 2008, similar problems caused Nestle Prepared Foods Company to recall more than 1.2 million pounds of frozen foods after discovering small pieces of hard, red plastic pieces in their meals. After initially recalling only 200,000 pounds of Lean Pocket Spinach Artichoke Chicken pockets in July 2008, Nestle expanded the recall the next month to add another 200,000 pounds of Hot Pocket Pepperoni Pizza pockets. In November 2008, 875,000 more pounds of Lean Cuisine chicken meals were recalled by Nestle, who indicated that the plastic pieces entered their facility in a single lot of incoming raw ingredients.

The FSIS suggests that anyone who believes they may have swallowed plastic pieces in these foods and is concerned about their health should contact their physician.