A Million Pounds of Chicken Recalled Because People Found Metal Chunks

chicken recall
Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Americans love some chicken. On Super Bowl Sunday alone, Americans put down 1.3 billion chicken wings. But before you throw back some chicken nuggets for dinner, check the packaging and make sure the chicken in your freezer isn't a part of a huge recall from OK Food Inc.

The manufacturer has issued a recall for nearly one million pounds of breaded chicken products because it "may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal." That's a horrifying sentence. Metal!?

The recall is for a variety of ready-to-eat chicken products that include chicken patties, chicken fingers, and chicken nuggets. The company discovered the problem on March 21, after receiving five complaints in which customers discovered metal in their food. The recall includes food that was produced from December 19, 2016 through March 7, 2017.

"After an internal investigation, the firm identified the affected product and determined that the objects in all the complaints came from metal conveyor belting," according to the United States Department of Agriculture, which published a complete list of the affected products, as well as images of the labels.

Worse yet, OK Food Inc. is a provider of chicken for some schools. The recall has prompted at least one school district to take chicken off the menu. Following the removal of chicken from New York City school menus, the Department of Education released a statement. "Due to quality control concerns, we suspended the distribution of sliced pizza and chicken tenders," the statement read. "The safety of students always comes first and families should rest assured that school food is safe and nutritious. These items will not be served again until all concerns have been addressed. Schools are offering alternative menu options and we're exploring new sources for these products."

Maybe it's a good time for DC to bring back their 60s comic book hero Matter-Eater Lad. He could totally save the day. Failing that, it's maybe a good night to try some hand salad.

h/t Brit + Co

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Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He holds a Guinness World Record but has never met the fingernail lady. Follow him @dlukenelson.