Costco Chicken Nugget Recall Issued Over Plastic and Rubber Contamination
More than 220,000 pounds of fully cooked, frozen chicken nugget products sold at Costco and other major retailers nationwide are being recalled, due to a risk that they may be contaminated with pieces of plastic and rubber, which could cause consumers to choke, suffocate or suffer another injury.
The Costco chicken nugget recall was announced by the U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) on April 29, following several consumer complaints indicated finding blue plastic and black rubber pieces in the products.
Although no injuries have been reported, the FSIS has classified this recall as a Class I recall, and is urging consumers to stop consuming the products immediately. To date, the potential size of the fragments that have entered the chicken nugget products is unknown and could be large enough to cause suffocation and choking.
The recall includes an estimated 220,450 pounds of Foster Farms Fully Cooked Breast Nuggets- Nuggets Shaped Chicken Breast Patties with Rib Meat sold in five pound bags and Fully Cooked Breast Nuggets – Nugget Shaped Breaded Chicken Breast Patties with Rib Meat Fritters sold in 10 pound bulk boxes. The five pound boxes are marked with “Best By” dates of February 21, 2017 (2/21/17) and March 8, 2017 (3/8/2017). The 10 pound bulk boxes have package code 6053 or 6068 marked on the label. Both products have the establishment number “P’33901” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
The chicken nugget products were produced by Foster Poultry Farms of Farmerville, Louisiana on February 22, 2016 and March 8, 2016. They were distributed to Costco and other major retailers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Utah, and Washington State.
According to a recall release by Foster Farms, the five pound bags were sold at Costco locations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington state. The 10 pound bags were sold to nonretail wholesale distributers in California and Arizona.
The FSIS has classified the chicken nugget recall at a Class I status, indicating there is a reasonable probability that the consumption of the products will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.
Customers are being urged by Foster Farms and the FSIS to stop consuming the products immediately and to either throw the products away or return them to their place of purchase. Customers with questions may contact Foster Farms Recall Hotline at 1-800-338-8051 or visit them FSIS food safety question website AskKaren.gov.
The Costco chicken nugget recall comes just several days after the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken product recall was expanded to include more than 4.5 million pounds of poultry products, due to a risk that they may be contaminated with plastic, rubber, metal, wood and other materials that could injure consumers.