Half A Million Pounds of Chicken Was Just Recalled

Do you like your chicken contaminated with shards of metal? Probably not.

Sanderson Farms, a chicken-centric establishment operating out of Hazelhurst, Mississippi, just voluntarily recalled 554,090 pounds of poultry products that "may be contaminated with extraneous metal materials," according to a recent press release, posted on Sanderson's website. Which, if you've eaten chicken, you'd know any metal materials are actually extraneous.

The snag was noticed when small metal shavings were found in Sanderson Farms products at processing plants in Georgia and Louisiana, and is being attributed to an ice-making machine malfunction during the production process. The following products are subject to the recall:

  • 70-lb. cases containing “YOUNG CHICKEN PARTS JUMBO BONELESS SKINLESS BREAST FILLETS WITH RIB MEAT” with case code 45017.
  • 70-lb. cases containing “YOUNG CHICKEN PARTS JUMBO CLIPPED TENDERLOINS” with case code 45092.
  • 70-lb. cases containing “YOUNG CHICKEN PARTS JUMBO BONELESS SKINLESS BREAST BUTTERFLIES WITH RIB MEAT” with case code 45015.
  • 70-lb. cases and 1800-lb. combos containing “FRESH YOUNG CHICKEN PARTS BREAST FRAMES” with case code 45969.

The silver lining to this metal-in-chicken conundrum is that apparently (as the company reports), none of the potentially contaminated product was shipped to consumers or stores, and no injuries or averse effects have been reported, to the company's knowledge.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Sanderson Farms holds about 7% of the US Poultry market (doesn't seem like a lot, but it is), with only Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp ahead of them. They provide chicken for customers including Sysco Corp., Kroger Co. and Arby’s.

Check your chicken, folks.


Wil Fulton is a Staff Writer for Thrillist. Follow him @wilfulton

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