Chicken nugget recall triggered by plastic in 75,000 pounds of nuggets at Sam's Club
Chicken nugget recall involves 75,000 pounds of Tyson-brand chicken nuggets sold at Sam's Club stores and distributed for institutional use. Contamination with plastic was the cause of the chicken nugget recall, which has been linked to minor mouth injuries.
The Sam's Club logo a store in Bentonville, Ark. Tyson Foods has issued a chicken nugget recall affecting products sold at the membership warehouse chain, which is owned by Wal-Mart, Inc.
Sarah Conrad/Reuters/File
Tyson Foods has recalled more than 75,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets that may be contaminated with plastic.
The chicken nugget recall, announced last week by Missouri-based Tyson and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), involves two products: five pound bags of “Tyson Fully Cooked White Meat Chicken Nuggets” with “Best if Used By” dates of either Jan. 26, 2015 or Feb. 26, 2015; and 20-pound bags of “Spare Time Fully Cooked Nugget-Shaped Chicken Breast Pattie Fritters w/Rib Meat” (with no “Best by” date specified).
The five pound bags were distributed to Sam’s Club locations nationwide, and the 20-pound bags were shipped for “institutional use in Indiana and Arkansas,” according to the USDA.
The recall was issued after Tyson received customer complaints about small pieces of plastic in the nuggets. “The company has received reports of minor oral injury associated with consumption of these products,” the USDA’s news release on the matter reads. “FSIS [Food Safety and Inspection Service] has received no additional reports of injury or illness from consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness from consumption of these products should contact a healthcare provider.”
The nuggets were produced on either Jan. 26 or Feb. 15 at one of Tyson’s 40 processing plants. The plastic contamination was traced to a product scraper inside a blending machine. The USDA considers this a “Class III” recall, which means the associated health risk is low and discontinuing use of the product is not recommended.
Wal-Mart Inc., which owns Sam’s Club, did not say whether or not it would issue a refund for the contaminated nuggets.
Customers with further questions about the recall should call Tyson Foods Customer Service at (866) 328-3156 or visit the release on the USDA's website, here. The full product information is below:
- 5-lb. bags of “Tyson Fully Cooked White Meat Chicken Nuggets – 16142-928” with a “Best if Used By” date of “Jan 26 2015” or Feb 16 2015.” The manufacturer codes “0264SDL0315 through 19” and “0474SDL0311 through 14” can also be found on the bags. These products were produced Jan. 26, 2014 or Feb. 16, 2014.
- 20-lb. bulk packs of “Spare Time Fully Cooked Nugget-Shaped Chicken Breast Pattie Fritters w/Rib Meat – 16142-861” with identifying case codes of “0264SDL0315 through 19” and “0474SDL0311 through 14.”
The product bags bear the establishment number “P-13556.”