Have Tyson’s chicken strips jumped the shard?
Tyson Foods Inc. TSN, +0.44% the producer of processed meats, will recall nearly 12 million pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strip products due to metal contamination concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said over the weekend. The recall was expanded from a recall of 70,000 pounds (or 35 tons) of chicken strips announced by the company in March.
“The frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strip items were produced on various dates from Oct. 1, 2018 through March 8, 2019 and have ‘use by dates’ of Oct. 1, 2019 through March 7, 2020,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement on Saturday. This chart contains a list of the products subject to recall.
The USDA said it’s aware of six complaints involving similar pieces of metal. Three Tyson consumers alleging injury when they attempted to eat them.
“Our company is taking corrective action,” Barbara Masters, vice president of regulatory food policy, food and agriculture for Tyson, told MarketWatch in an email. “We have discontinued use of the specific equipment believed to be associated with the metal fragments, and we will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machinery to replace the plant’s existing metal-detection system.”
It’s not an uncommon issue. CTI Foods, a privately-held company, said last December it would recall almost 30,000 pounds of Jimmy Dean sausage links after five consumers said they found metal particles. R.L. Zeigler Co. said in January it would recall 11,664 pounds of ready-to-eat poultry and meat sausage products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials — specifically metal.
The Tyson problem was discovered when the Food Safety and Inspection Service received two consumer complaints of “extraneous material” in the chicken-strip products. The Department of Agriculture said it’s now aware of six complaints during this time frame involving similar pieces of metal with three consumers alleging injury when they attempted to eat them.
Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a health-care provider, the USDA said. The government agency also said it’s concerned that some of this chicken may still be sitting in people’s freezers. “Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them,” it said. “These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”
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Tyson said it will start using X-ray machines and a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection.
“Consumers expect that the food they eat is safe,” she added. “In their best interest and in an abundance of caution we’re taking quick and decisive action to expand this recall.” Tyson will also be using a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection verification, Masters added. “It is unacceptable to Tyson Foods that any product might not meet our standards,” she added.