Perdue products sit in a poultry section of a supermarket in Palisades Park, N.J., Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)
Check your freezer for a possible recall. Perdue Foods is pulling more than 167,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets and tenders from store shelves after reports of metal wire being found in the products.
Perdue, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), has issued a recall affecting three specific items: Perdue Breaded Chicken Tenders, Butcher Box Organic Chicken Breast Nuggets, and Perdue Simply Smart Organics Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets.
The recall involves approximately 167,171 pounds (75,827 kilograms) of these products, which may be tainted with foreign material. This decision followed several customer complaints. Perdue, based in Maryland, revealed that the foreign material was “identified in a limited number of consumer packages."
According to Jeff Shaw, Perdue’s senior vice president of food safety and quality, the foreign material is a very thin strand of metal wire that accidentally entered the manufacturing process. Shaw emphasized that the recall is a precautionary measure to ensure consumer safety.
There have been no confirmed injuries or adverse reactions related to these products, as stated by FSIS and Perdue. Nevertheless, FSIS is concerned that these products might still be in consumers’ freezers.
To identify the recalled items, check the product codes listed on both Perdue’s and FSIS’s online notices. All affected products have a "best if used by" date of March 23, 2025, and the establishment number “P-33944” on the package’s back. These products were distributed to retailers across the country.
If you have the recalled chicken, it’s advised to dispose of it or return it to the store where it was purchased. Perdue is offering full refunds to affected customers. For assistance, contact Perdue at 866-866-3703.
Food recalls due to foreign object contamination are not uncommon. Last November, Tyson Foods recalled nearly 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) of chicken nuggets after metal pieces were discovered in the dinosaur-shaped nuggets. Besides metal, recalls often occur due to plastic fragments, rocks, insects, and other foreign materials found in packaged foods.
