LAS VEGAS — Hormel Foods has issued a massive nationwide recall of nearly 4.9 million pounds of frozen chicken products just weeks before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
As Nevada families begin preparing their Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall after multiple customers reported finding metal in the frozen chicken breast and thigh products.
It is believed that the metal came from a production conveyor belt. The contaminated products were distributed to HRI Commercial Food Service, a restaurant supply company, at locations nationwide from Feb. 10 to Sept. 19.
“There have been no confirmed reports of injury due to consumption of this product,” the recall stated.
While the recalled products are only sold to foodservice customers, families purchasing food from restaurants or caterers that use commercial suppliers may still be at risk.
The recalled products include:
- Hormel Fire Braised Meats All Natural Boneless Chicken Thigh Meat – 65009
- Hormel Fire Braised Meats All Natural Boneless Chicken Breast – 77531
- Hormel Fire Braised Meats All Natural Boneless Chicken Breast – 46750
- Hormel Fire Braised Meats All Natural Boneless Chicken Breast – 86206
- Boneless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat – 134394
The FSIS is urging consumers to discard any of the above purchased products immediately and to contact the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) for food safety questions.
As the holiday season approaches, FSIS reminds families to practice basic safe food handling practices when bulk cooking, like avoiding cross-contamination, cooking to proper temperatures, and checking the temperature of the freezer and refrigerator.
